The 100 Best Strength Training Books


barbell pic
Image by Live4Soccer (CC BY-ND 2.0)


"This is the book that I wish I'd had when I began my training" is a common opening sentiment expressed by many authors of strength training books. This list, on the other hand, is the list of books I wish I'd had when I began training. It would have saved me a lot of time. The list contains the 100 best books for weightlifting. It's primarily aimed at beginners interested in sports based strength training; but has more detailed and academic books for the more advanced lifter, has texts on other subjects relevant to strength training, and contains some of the important works on bodybuilding too.

If you are a beginner, you will want to get Starting Strength and Pavel's Power to the People. These texts will help you make gains quickly, but, more importantly, Starting Strength will set you off on the right path to continue making gains once you've progressed from being a beginner to being an intermediate lifter.

Intermediate lifters should consider reading Practical Programming for Strength Training, The Science and Practice of Strength Training, and Periodization Training for Sports. These will take your understanding to the next level. Practical Programming is particularly good, combined with Starting Strength, as it covers how workout routines should develop as you gain strength and experience.

When considering which book to read it's worthwhile to do a little research into the author and text yourself. For example, try reading comments on Amazon, especially the negative ones; and try Googling for online reviews.

As strength training fits under the umbrella of Sports Science and has many other disciplines relevant to it, such as nutrition, flexibility and mobility, there are many good books on these subjects included too.

If you have an opinion on any of the books on this list, or if you've an opinion as to what books are missing from the list, please express it in the comments section below.

1. Starting Strength

By Mark Rippetoe

Starting Strength has been called the best and most useful of fitness books. The second edition, Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, sold over 80,000 copies in a competitive global market for fitness education. Along with Practical Programming for Strength Training 2nd Edition, they form a simple, logical, and ... More »

Starting Strength
Practical Programming for Strength Training

2. Practical Programming for Strength Training

By Mark Rippetoe; Lon Kilgore

There is a difference between Exercise and Training. Exercise is physical activity for its own sake, a workout done for the effect it produces today, during the workout or right after you're through. Training is physical activity done with a longer-term goal in mind, the constituent workouts of ... More »

3. Science and Practice of Strength Training

By Vladimir Zatsiorsky; William J. Kraemer

This new second edition of Science and Practice of Strength Training comes with many additions and changes. A new coauthor, Dr. William Kraemer, joins Dr. Vladimir Zatsiorsky in expanding on the principles and concepts needed for training athletes. Among Dr. Kraemer's contributions are three new ... More »

Science and Practice of Strength Training
Power to the People

4. Power to the People

By Pavel Tsatsouline | Used Price: 70% Off

How to get super strong without training to muscle failure or exhaustionHow to hack into your 'muscle software' and magnify your power and muscle definition How to get super strong without putting on an ounce of weightOr how to build massive muscles with a classified Soviet Special Forces ... More »

5. Supertraining

By Mel C. Siff; Yuri Verkhoshansky

Supertraining 6th edition expanded version by Prof. Yuri Verkhoshansky and Dr. Mel Siff Dr. Verkhoshansky has decided to self-publish this new expanded version and has asked UAC to be the exclusive worldwide distributor. This new edition contains more than 70 pages of never before published material from Dr. ... More »

Supertraining
New Functional Training for Sports

6. New Functional Training for Sports

By Mike Boyle

Train to perform at the highest level with the lowest risk of injury. New Functional Training for Sports, Second Edition produces the best results on the court, field, track, and mat, not just in the weight room. Michael Boyle, one of ... More »

7. Physiology of Sport and Exercise

By W. Larry Kenney; Jack Wilmore; David Costill

The leading textbook for undergraduate exercise physiology courses, Physiology of Sport and Exercise, Fifth Edition With Web Study Guide, has been fully updated in both content and design. The authors, all distinguished researchers and past presidents of the American College of Sports Medicine, ... More »

Physiology of Sport and Exercise
Never Let Go: A Philosophy of Lifting, Living and Learning

8. Never Let Go: A Philosophy of Lifting, Living and Learning

By Dan John

Coach Dan John breaks down the most complicated concepts of strength training and high-performance athletics in his personal, no-nonsense, thought-provoking and motivating style. Workout routines, Olympic lifting guidance, Highland Games, track and field and Strongman events are all covered, in addition to weight training philosophy for the general ... More »

9. Strength Training Anatomy

By Frederic Delavier | Used Price: 50% Off

With new exercises, additional stretches, and more of Frédéric Delavier’s signature illustrations, you’ll gain a whole new understanding of how muscles perform during strength exercises. This one-of-a-kind best-seller combines the visual detail of top anatomy texts with the best of strength training advice. Many books explain what muscles ... More »

Strength Training Anatomy
Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning

10. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning

By National Strength and Conditioning Association

Now in its third edition, Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning is the most comprehensive reference available for strength and conditioning professionals. In this text, 30 expert contributors explore the scientific principles, concepts, and theories of strength training and conditioning as well as their applications to athletic performance. ... More »

11. 5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training System for Raw Strength

By Jim Wendler

5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training System for Raw Strength, 2nd Edition The success of the 5/3/1 Method has been nothing short of extraordinary. For the 3 years, the response towards this simple but brutally effective training system has been overwhelming. This is because it ... More »

5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training System for Raw Strength
The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding

12. The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding

By Arnold Schwarzenegger | 50% Off

From elite bodybuilding competitors to gymnasts, from golfers to fitness gurus, anyone who works out with weights must own this book -- a book that only Arnold Schwarzenegger could write, a book that has earned its reputation as "the bible of bodybuilding." Inside, Arnold covers the very ... More »

13. Designing Resistance Training Programs

By Steven Fleck; William J. Kraemer | Under $1.00

In this updated, revised, and expanded third edition of Designing Resistance Training Programs, two of the world's leading experts on strength training explore how to use scientific knowledge to develop personalized training programs. With this text, you'll be able to- design scientifically sound resistance ... More »

Designing Resistance Training Programs
Olympic Weightlifting for Sports

14. Olympic Weightlifting for Sports

By Greg Everett

From the author of what has been called the best book on Olympic weightlifting, Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes & Coaches, comes Olympic Weightlifting for Sports. This book focuses on athletes and coaches outside of the competitive weightlifting world to present a method of teaching the ... More »

15. The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition

By Anita Bean

The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition is the definitive practical handbook for anyone wanting a performance advantage. This fully updated and revised edition incorporates the latest cutting-edge research. Written by one of the country's most respected sports nutritionists, it provides the latest research ... More »

The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition
Athletic Body in Balance

16. Athletic Body in Balance

By Gray Cook | Used Price: 60% Off

Great athletes make difficult moves look effortless with a combination of skill, strength, and balance. 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 ... More »

17. Becoming a Supple Leopard

By Kelly Starrett; Glen Cordoza

LEARN HOW TO HACK HUMAN MOVEMENTJoin the movement that has reached millions of athletes and coaches; learn how to perform basic maintenance on your body, unlock your human potential, live pain free…and become a Supple Leopard.Improve your athletic performance, extend your athletic career, treat body stiffness and achy ... More »

Becoming a Supple Leopard
The MAX Muscle Plan

18. The MAX Muscle Plan

By Brad Schoenfeld | Used Price: 60% Off

Blast through training plateaus, add lean muscle, and achieve your best body ever with The M.A.X. Muscle Plan. M.A.X. is an acronym for Mitogen Activated Xtreme training, a scientifically proven program to help you maximize your muscle potential and transform your ... More »

19. Periodization Training for Sports

By Tudor Bompa; Michael Carrera | 50% Off

Sports conditioning has advanced tremendously since the era when a “no pain, no gainâ€Â philosophy guided the training regimens of athletes. Dr. Tudor Bompa pioneered most of these breakthroughs, proving long ago that it's not only how much and how hard an athlete works but ... More »

Periodization Training for Sports
Powerlifting

20. Powerlifting

By Dan Austin; Bryan Mann

Powerlifting. The name says it all—strength, power, intensity, concentration, determination. The sport’s physical and mental demands are unlike any other, as are its athletes who must always be committed and focused on success. Now, hall of famer and nine-time world powerlifting ... More »

21. Stretching Scientifically: A Guide to Flexibility Training

By Thomas Kurz | Used Price: 50% Off

Use our method to attain maximum height in your kicks and to be able to kick at that height with no warm-up! Learn: * How to stretch safely and quickly to achieve and maintain your maximum flexibility * How to make your muscles grow stronger and longer so ... More »

Stretching Scientifically: A Guide to Flexibility Training
Easy Strength: How to Get a Lot Stronger Than Your Competition-And Dominate in Your Sport

22. Easy Strength: How to Get a Lot Stronger Than Your Competition-And Dominate in Your Sport

By Pavel Tsatsouline; Dan John

How To Look Like Tarzan, Play Like Tarzan-And Win Like TarzanHeadline:What It Takes to Stack the Strength-Deck in Your Favor "If football were played in the weight room or on the track, I could guarantee that each year, the team that won the championship would NOT be the ... More »

23. Acquisition and Performance of Sports Skills

By Terry McMorris

Acquisition and Performance of Sports Skills provides students with the theoretical and practical background that is necessary for an understanding of the basics of skill acquisition and performance. This understanding is founded on the studenta s existing knowledge of sport and leads into the subject, using a student ... More »

Acquisition and Performance of Sports Skills
Beyond Brawn

24. Beyond Brawn

By Stuart McRobert | Used Price: 50% Off

This is the third edition of one of the all-time finest bodybuilding books. BEYOND BRAWN is 512 pages and 23 chapters of information about every facet of bodybuilding, and strength training in general. This book is not just for novices. It can save you years of wasted toil ... More »

25. Holistic Strength Training For Triathlon

By Andrew Johnston | Used Price: 50% Off

Much more goes into a successful strength training program than reps and load. How one thinks, breathes, eats, drinks, and sleeps has just as much impact on a person's vitality as how one moves. Indeed, failing to get the biochemistry right dooms even the best exercise prescription to ... More »

Holistic Strength Training For Triathlon
Weightlifting Programming: A Winning Coach's Guide

26. Weightlifting Programming: A Winning Coach's Guide

By Bob Takano; Greg Everett

This the most thorough English-language book available on the subject of program planning for Olympic-style weightlifting. Takano covers the theoretical and practical issues, the biological and mathematical underpinnings, and provides a straightforward process for developing training programs with plentiful examples. Bob Takano s book, "Weightlifting Programming: A Winning ... More »

27. Sculpting Her Body Perfect

By Brad Schoenfeld | Under $1.00

The best is now even better!Sculpting Her Body Perfect has helped hundreds of thousands of readers improve muscle tone, sculpt their physiques, and tone up hard-to-reach and troublesome body areas. This third edition of Sculpting Her Body Perfect not only provides the exercises you need ... More »

Sculpting Her Body Perfect
Charlie Francis Training System

28. Charlie Francis Training System

By Charlie Francis

The Charlie Francis Training System was a project set out to teach coaches how to coach. Francis was an Olympian in the 100 m in Munich in 1972 and once ranked number 5 in the world in the 100meters. His frustration as a frequently injured athlete fueled his ... More »

29. Recovery for Performance in Sport

By Christophe Hausswirth; Inigo Mujika

In today’s competitive sport environment, discovering effective methods of facilitating optimal athletic performance is paramount to success. The recovery period is essential in maintaining athletes’ physical and psychological well-being and crucial in the pursuit of intense physical training and satisfying performances. Recovery for ... More »

Recovery for Performance in Sport
Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning

30. Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning

By Vern Gambetta | Used Price: 60% Off

Athletic Development offers a rare opportunity to learn and apply a career full of knowledge from the best. World-renowned strength and conditioning coach Vern Gambetta condenses the wisdom he's gained through more than 40 years of experience of working with athletes across sports, age groups, ... More »

31. Every Day Is Game Day: The Proven System of Elite Performance to Win All Day, Every Day

By Mark Verstegen | Used Price: 50% Off

Noted sports performance expert and bestselling author of Core Performance, Verstegen reveals the training program he uses with elite athletes and U.S. Special Operations Forces.   As founder and president of EXOS, Mark Verstegen has trained the world’s top athletes in sports ... More »

Every Day Is Game Day: The Proven System of Elite Performance to Win All Day, Every Day
Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes & Coaches

32. Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes & Coaches

By Greg Everett

Companion DVD Also Available Now - Olympic Weightlifting: A DVD Guide to Learning & Teaching the Olympic Lifts Olympic Weightlifting is a comprehensive guide to learning and instructing the Olympic and related lifts. Includes sections on teaching progressions, lift analyses, error correction, programming, competition, supplemental exercises, warm-up ... More »

33. Build a Better Athlete: What's Wrong with American Sports and How To Fix It

By Michael Yessis

Are great athletes born or does practice make perfect? Are science and technique just as important as athletic ability? The truth is that anyone can improve their athletic performance. This book shows you how in simple and easy-to-read format. Renowned biomechanist/kinesiologist Dr. Michael Yessis dissects the current standards ... More »

Build a Better Athlete: What's Wrong with American Sports and How To Fix It
High-Performance Sports Conditioning

34. High-Performance Sports Conditioning

By Bill Foran | Under $1.00

Today's athletes are breaking records that many thought were untouchable—in large part due to the major advances in sports training. High-Performance Sports Conditioning combines these superior modern methods with sample training programs, workouts, and drills to serve as the only conditioning guide you'll ... More »

35. Fit

By Lon Kilgore; Michael Hartman; Justin Lascek

Fitness is hard. Very hard. Everyone knows it is, but everyone is also willing to risk time and money on the mythology of easy fitness. If anyone, ANYONE, tells you that there is an “EASYâ€Â way to fitness, they just want your money. FIT is a book ... More »

Fit
Mass Made Simple: A Six-Week Journey into Bulking

36. Mass Made Simple: A Six-Week Journey into Bulking

By Dan John

What does it take to build solid power and size? Gaining lean body mass is the Holy Grail and the Lost City of Gold and the Atlantis of bodybuilding. It gets talked about a lot, but few seem to unlock the secrets. In the past few decades, Dan John, author ... More »

37. Faster, Higher, Stronger: How Sports Science Is Creating a New Generation of Superathletes

By Mark McClusky

The world of high-performance athletics is changing forever. Not so long ago, you could compete at the top level with hard work and a good coach, but today, it’s impossible to separate the achievements of athletes from the scientists who support them. In ... More »

Faster, Higher, Stronger: How Sports Science Is Creating a New Generation of Superathletes
Enter The Kettlebell

38. Enter The Kettlebell

By Pavel Tsatsouline

Pavel delivers a significant upgrade to his original landmark work, "The Russian Kettlebell Challenge". Drawing on five years of developing and leading the world's first and premiere kettlebell instructor certification program, and after spending five years of additional research into what really works for dramatic results with the ... More »

39. Strength Training for Young Athletes

By William J. Kraemer; Steven Fleck | 90% Off

Young superstar athletes have dispelled long-standing misconceptions that strength development should start in the late teens. But much discussion has continued regarding what type of training is most beneficial. Strength Training for Young Athletes provides all the answers as the authoritative guide to strength development ... More »

Strength Training for Young Athletes
Cardio Strength Training

40. Cardio Strength Training

By Robert dos Remedios | Used Price: 70% Off

Cut workout time in half and get double the results! If you’re a guy with little time to work out and pounds of fat to burn, the thought of having to spend hours in the gym lifting weights and doing cardio can be a daunting proposition. Now, Cardio Strength ... More »

41. Strong Curves: A Woman's Guide to Building a Better Butt and Body

By Bret Contreras

This is not your run-of-the-mill fitness book. Developed by world-renowned gluteal expert Bret Contreras, Strong Curves offers an extensive fitness and nutrition guide for women seeking to improve their physique, function, strength, and mobility.Contreras spent the last eighteen years researching and field-testing the best methods for building better ... More »

Strong Curves: A Woman's Guide to Building a Better Butt and Body
Essentials of Human Nutrition

42. Essentials of Human Nutrition

By Jim Mann; Stewart Truswell

Nutrition is one of the most important determinants of individual and public health. An increasingly informed public expects its health and food professionals to be able to offer clear, evidence-based advice on diet and associated health implications, but how can established nutrition principles be extracted from the extensive ... More »

43. Sport and Exercise Science: An Introduction

By Philip Watkins; Dean Sewell; Murray Griffin

Sport and Exercise Science: An Introduction provides a broad-based foundation in the major areas that underpin the scientific study of sport and exercise science, thus helping undergraduate students to develop a sound understanding of human anatomy, physiology, nutrition, metabolism, biomechanics and psychology related to sport, exercise and health. ... More »

Sport and Exercise Science: An Introduction
Exercise Physiology: Human Bioenergetics and Its Applications

44. Exercise Physiology: Human Bioenergetics and Its Applications

By George Brooks; Thomas Fahey; Kenneth Baldwin

Considered a standard in the ï¬Âeld, this text integrates Bioenergetics into every chapter and provides a comprehensive survey of current data and research in exercise physiology. In-depth discussion of all areas of exercise physiology makes this text an invaluable resource for students in exercise science, kinesiology, sports medicine, ... More »

45. Training for Speed, Agility, and Quickness

By Lee E. Brown; Vance A. Ferrigno | 70% Off

Not only are modern athletes larger and more muscular than their predecessors, but they also move with a swiftness and power never seen before. Training for Speed, Agility, and Quickness is the workout guide and DVD package you need in order to perform a step ahead of the ... More »

Training for Speed, Agility, and Quickness
Neuromechanics of Human Movement

46. Neuromechanics of Human Movement

By Roger Enoka | Used Price: 50% Off

Drawing on the disciplines of neurophysiology and physics, Neuromechanics of Human Movement, Fourth Edition, explores how the nervous system controls the actions of muscles to produce human motion in relation to biomechanical principles. This contemporary approach is much different from the traditional approach, which focuses ... More »

47. Power, Speed, Endurance

By Brian MacKenzie; Glen Cordoza | 50% Off

Power, Speed, ENDURANCE is a highly effective training system that has catapulted thousands of endurance athletes to the next level. Developed by CrossFit Endurance founder Brian MacKenzie and featuring instruction from some of the world's top endurance and CrossFit coaches, Power, Speed, ENDURANCE unveils techniques, drills, and training ... More »

Power, Speed, Endurance
Women's Strength Training Anatomy

48. Women's Strength Training Anatomy

By Frederic Delavier | Rock-bottom Price: $0.01

With information on strengthening and toning the legs, buttocks, abs, and back, Women's Strength Training Anatomy provides full-color, detailed anatomical illustrations of exercises for these hard-to-shape areas. What makes this book unique is that readers can see the muscles at work during each ... More »

49. Judo Training Methods

By Donn F. Draeger | Used Price: 50% Off

A product of over twenty years of exhaustive research, Judo Training Methods is a comprehensive examination of the Japanese martial art of judo written by martial arts authority Donn Draeger and judo champion and instructor Takahiko Ishikawa. Although the examples are geared toward judo, the training and conditioning ... More »

Judo Training Methods
The Sport of Olympic-Style Weightlifting

50. The Sport of Olympic-Style Weightlifting

By Carl Miller

This book consolidates Carl Miller's extensive knowledge gained while pursuing his life's work in Olympic-style weightlifting. There are scientific principles behind Olympic-style weightlifting, and Miller's 50 years of lifting, researching and coaching provide valuable insight into the process of Olympic lifting. Whether you are an advanced lifter or ... More »

51. Move Your DNA: Restore Your Health Through Natural Movement

By Katy Bowman

Humorous, fascinating, and science based, the bestselling first edition of Move Your DNA has been updated and expanded to include a comprehensive three-level exercise program. In layperson-friendly terms Move Your DNA addresses the vast quantities of disease we are suffering from, identifying our lack of movement as the ... More »

Move Your DNA: Restore Your Health Through Natural Movement
Dynamic Stretching

52. Dynamic Stretching

By Mark Kovacs

RAISE YOUR GAME WITH THIS REVOLUTIONARY STRETCHING PROGRAMToday’s fitness experts have discovered that both stretching and how you stretch can affect how well you perform on the field, court or track. That is why so many top trainers recommend dynamic stretches.Dynamic Stretching teaches how to effectively prepare your ... More »

53. Plyometrics

By Donald A. Chu; Gregory Myer | 80% Off

Strength and power—which provide the ability to move quickly with great force—are absolute necessities for today’s athletes. Elite players, coaches, and trainers rely on plyometrics to improve quickness, speed, jumping ability, footwork, body control, balance, and overall performance. With this authoritative guide on ... More »

Plyometrics
Bigger Leaner Stronger

54. Bigger Leaner Stronger

By Michael Matthews

INTRODUCING MICHAEL MATTHEWS' #1 BESTSELLER WITH OVER 100,000 COPIES SOLD!If you want to be muscular, lean, and strong as quickly as possible without steroids, good genetics, or wasting ridiculous amounts of time in the gym and money on supplements...then you want to read this book.Here's the deal: Getting ... More »

55. ProBodX

By Marv Marinovich; Edythe M. Heus | 60% Off

Do you feel that even with exercise and diet you are far from reaching your fitness goals?You are not alone. Even though we are more into fitness than ever, the programs we use are just not working well enough. Many are even dangerous and can weaken the body ... More »

ProBodX
Movement: Functional Movement Systems

56. Movement: Functional Movement Systems

By Gray Cook

Movement is a vivid discovery, a fundamental and explicit teaching in which the return to basics takes on a whole new meaning. In it, author Gray Cook crosses the lines between rehabilitation, conditioning and fitness, providing a clear model and a common language under which fitness and rehabilitation ... More »

57. Explosive Plyometrics

By Michael Yessis

Explosive Plyometrics can give you the speed and power you need for any sport. This is the definitive book on what are real explosive plyometrics. Keep in mind that although explosive plyometrics uses jumps, not all jump exercises are plyometric. This book gives you the true explosive plyometric ... More »

Explosive Plyometrics
Strength Training Past 50

58. Strength Training Past 50

By Wayne Westcott; Thomas R. Baechle | Under $1.00

Increase your strength to improve your health, your appearance, and your performance—with Strength Training Past 50! Strength training has numerous advantages for the active adult, including enhanced athletic performance and reduced risk of disease, including decreased symptoms of arthritis, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Strength Training Past ... More »

59. The New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle

By Lou Schuler; Alwyn Cosgrove | Under $1.00

Ten unique programs for fat loss, muscle gain, and strength improvement for beginners and elite lifters. Want to get more out of your workout and spend less time in the gym? Many guys devote so many hours to lifting weight yet end up with so little to show ... More »

The New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle
Strength Training for Faster Swimming

60. Strength Training for Faster Swimming

By Blythe Lucero | Used Price: 50% Off

In order to enhance your performance, swimming alone is not enough. An effective strength training is crucial if you want to improve your swimming times. This book shows you what types of strength training benefit swimming and how to develop a winning routine. It includes swim-specific strength-training and ... More »

61. Stretching

By Bob Anderson | Used Price: 50% Off

This is the book that people tell their friends about, that trainers suggest for virtually every sport and activity, and that medical professionals recommend to people just starting to get back in shape. Stretching first appeared in 1980 as a new generation of Americans became committed to running, ... More »

Stretching
The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess

62. The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess

By Lou Schuler; Cassandra Forsythe; Alwyn Cosgrove

A revolutionary fitness plan for women, focusing on weightlifting to create a lean, strong, feminine physique  In The New Rules of Lifting for Women, fitness experts and authors Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove continue their wildly popular New Rules of Lifting series with a comprehensive strength training, ... More »

63. Scrawny to Brawny: The Complete Guide to Building Muscle the Natural Way

By Michael Mejia; John Berardi | Price: $0.01

A state-of-the-art weight-lifting and nutritional blueprint for "skinny" guys who want to pack on muscleLet's face it, naturally skinny guys are at a distinct genetic disadvantage when it comes to building muscle mass. But with the proper advice, these "hardgainers" definitely can realize their fitness goals. In Scrawny ... More »

Scrawny to Brawny: The Complete Guide to Building Muscle the Natural Way
Convict Conditioning

64. Convict Conditioning

By Paul Wade

How to Train As If Your VERY LIFE Depended on Your Degree of REAL Strength, Power and ToughnessMost physical training systems are designed for the "domesticated" human animal. That is to say, for us humans who live lives of such relative security that we cultivate our strength and ... More »

65. Muscletown USA: Bob Hoffman and the Manly Culture of York Barbell

By John D. Fair | Used Price: 60% Off

From the 1930s to the 1980s, the capital of weightlifting in America was York, Pennsylvania, the home of the York Barbell Company. Bob Hoffman, the founder of York Barbell, propagated an ideology of success for Americans seeking physical improvement. Often called the "Father of World Weightlifting," Hoffman was ... More »

Muscletown USA: Bob Hoffman and the Manly Culture of York Barbell
Anatomy of Movement

66. Anatomy of Movement

By Blandine Calais-Germain

Anatomy of Movement presents a dynamic, integrated approach to the study of the physical structures of the musculoskeletal system and their functional relationship to the movements of the human body. In clear and concise text illustrated with more than a thousand graphic drawings, the author guides the reader ... More »

67. The Biochemical Basis of Sports Perfomance

By Robert J. Maughan; Michael Gleeson

Some understanding of the biochemistry of exercise is fundamental to any study of the factors that contribute to sports performance. It is the physical, chemical and biochemical properties of cells and tissues that determine the physiological responses to exercise, and yet the teaching of exercise biochemistry is poorly ... More »

The Biochemical Basis of Sports Perfomance
The Olympic Textbook of Science in Sport

68. The Olympic Textbook of Science in Sport

By Robert J. Maughan

This new volume in the Encyclopaedia of Sports Medicine series, published under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee, delivers an up-to-date, state of the art presentation of the scientific aspects of conditioning, injury prevention, and competition. The book covers the key areas of scientific knowledge in sport ... More »

69. The Navy SEAL Physical Fitness Guide

By Patricia A. Deuster

This up-to-date guide to physical fitness was researched and prepared by specialists to provide information on attaining the physical strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness demanded of Navy SEALs.Anyone can benefit from the clearly written and well-illustrated instructions, which cover cardiorespiratory conditioning, running and swimming, strength training, flexibility, calisthenics, ... More »

The Navy SEAL Physical Fitness Guide
Practical Skills in Sport and Exercise Science

70. Practical Skills in Sport and Exercise Science

By Peter Reaburn; Ben Dascombe; Rob Reed

If you are studying exercise and sports science, or a related course, then this book will be an indispensable companion throughout your entire degree programme. This 'one-stop' text will guide you through the wide range of practical, analytical and data handling skills that you will need during your ... More »

71. Training for Warriors: The Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts Workout

By Martin Rooney | Used Price: 70% Off

To be a warrior, you must train like a warriorDiscover the training secrets that have produced World Champions in MMA, Submission Grappling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and Judo. More than 750 color photos will show you how to perform hundreds of exercises designed to specifically target each area of ... More »

Training for Warriors: The Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts Workout
The Biomechanics of Back Pain

72. The Biomechanics of Back Pain

By Michael A. Adams; Nikolai Bogduk; Kim Burton

Authored by experts of international renown, the new edition of The Biomechanics of Back Pain forms a bridge between the latest research and the effective clinical management of patients with back problems. Now published for the first time in full colour, this popular volume now has a bonus ... More »

73. You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises

By Mark Lauren; Joshua Clark | 50% Off

From an elite Special Operations physical trainer, an ingeniously simple, rapid-results, do-anywhere program for getting into amazing shape. As the demand for Special Operations military forces has grown over the last decade, elite trainer Mark Lauren has been at the front lines of preparing nearly one ... More »

You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises
Daniels' Running Formula

74. Daniels' Running Formula

By Jack Daniels

Get in the best shape of your running career with the help of Daniels’ Running Formula, the book that Runner’s World magazine calls the best training book. Premier running coach Jack Daniels provides you with his legendary VDOT formula to guide you through training at exactly the ... More »

75. Strength Training for Sport

By William J. Kraemer; Keijo Hakkinen | 90% Off

A high--quality complement to the handbooks on particular sports, the handbookon Strength Training for Sport presents both the basic concepts and theoretical background for sports--specific strength training as well as the practical consideration in designing the overall program. Separate chapters deal with periodization, gender differences, detraining, and over ... More »

Strength Training for Sport
Dumbbell Training for Strength And Fitness

76. Dumbbell Training for Strength And Fitness

By Matt Brzycki | Used Price: 70% Off

This is not your conventional how-to book. With an emphasis on safety, it thoroughly covers all aspects of proper strength training while simultaneously debunking certain myths and misconceptions such as explosive training and sport-specific training. The book shows how to perform nearly 50 exercises with dumbbells in a ... More »

77. Handbook of Sports Performance Analysis

By Tim McGarry

Sport performance analysis techniques help coaches, athletes and sport scientists develop an objective understanding of actual sport performance, as opposed to self-report, fitness tests or laboratory based experiments. For example, contemporary performance analysis enables elite sports people and coaches to obtain live feedback of match statistics and video ... More »

Handbook of Sports Performance Analysis
Special Strength Training

78. Special Strength Training

By Yuri Verkhoshansky

From the leading scientist and expert in Sport Training, his last book: a milestone, the point of no return in the Strength Training. The most complete and up to date book in Special Strength Training (SST): Methodological foundations of special strength training, Guidelines for planning SST, SST means ... More »

79. Triphasic Training: A systematic approach to elite speed and explosive strength performance

By Cal Dietz; Ben Peterson

Triphasic Training is the pinnacle of sports performance training. That’s not hype. Cal Dietz, strength coach at the University of Minnesota, has the results to back up this claim – a Hobey Baker Award winner, two Big Ten Athletes of the Year, over 400 All-Americans, 28 Big Ten/WCHA ... More »

Triphasic Training: A systematic approach to elite speed and explosive strength performance
Strength Training for Women

80. Strength Training for Women

By Lori Incledon | Rock-bottom Price: $0.01

Ready for an individualized approach to working out that produces better results? Strength Training for Women delivers with information tailored to the way your body works and responds to training, and the specific tools you need to reach your goals.More than simple descriptions of exercises ... More »

81. A Practical Approach To Strength Training

By Matt Brzycki

This fourth edition of A Practical Approach to Strength Training is a long-awaited update of the classic book that has been a widely used resource in the fitness industry, selling nearly 35,000 copies. Many of the chapters have been overhauled with the latest information on strength and fitness; new chapters ... More »

A Practical Approach To Strength Training
Block Periodization

82. Block Periodization

By Vladimir Issurin; Michael Yessis

The basis of contemporary training was founded several decades ago when scientific knowledge was far from complete and athletes' workloads, results, and demands were much lower then they are currently. At that time the traditional training periodization, as a division of the whole seasonal program into smaller periods ... More »

83. The New High Intensity Training

By Ellington Darden | Under $1.00

Certain to become the bible of HIT-the training that revolutionized lifting with shorter, far-more-intense workouts-New High Intensity Training by Ellington Darden is the last word on how to achieve explosive growth safely, without steroids!For many dedicated bodybuilders, the weight-lifting theories of Arthur Jones are gospel. It was Jones, ... More »

The New High Intensity Training
Understanding Nutrition

84. Understanding Nutrition

By Eleanor Noss Whitney; Sharon Rady Rolfes

This best-selling introductory nutrition text is praised for its approachable narrative, engaging presentation, and careful explanations. The new Thirteenth Edition of Whitney and Rolfes' UNDERSTANDING NUTRITION takes the study of nutrition to a new level with an integrated pedagogy and an emphasis on active learning, assignable content, and ... More »

85. High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way

By Mike Mentzer; John Little | 70% Off

A PAPERBACK ORIGINAL High-intensity bodybuilding advice from the first man to win a perfect score in the Mr. Universe competition This one-of-a-kind book profiles the high-intensity training (HIT) techniques pioneered by the late Mike Mentzer, the legendary bodybuilder, leading trainer, and renowned bodybuilding consultant. His highly effective, proven ... More »

High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way
Overcoming Gravity: A Systematic Approach to Gymnastics and Bodyweight Strength

86. Overcoming Gravity: A Systematic Approach to Gymnastics and Bodyweight Strength

By Steven Low

Overcoming Gravity: A Systematic Approach to Gymnastics and Bodyweight Strength is a 542 page comprehensive guide to the most overlooked, yet most powerful elements of strength training. In this book, Steven Low takes the reader on a journey through logically and systematically constructing a strength oriented bodyweight workout ... More »

87. Sport Stretch: 311 Stretches for 41 Sports

By Michael J. Alter | Rock-bottom Price: $0.01

" This new edition of Sport Stretch is a complete guide to flexibility for both weekend warriors and elite competitors. It features more stretches than the first edition, a new user-friendly layout, and more background information on the hows and whys of stretching.The centerpieces ... More »

Sport Stretch: 311 Stretches for 41 Sports
The Weightlifting Encyclopedia: A Guide to World Class Performance

88. The Weightlifting Encyclopedia: A Guide to World Class Performance

By Arthur Drechsler

The Weightlifting Encyclopedia Lifting weights is one of the most popular and fastest-growing athletic activities in the world today. While millions lift weights, many more would do so if they simply knew how to go about it. And those who know the most about weightlifting_serious competitive weightlifters_are not ... More »

89. Vander's Human Physiology

By Eric Widmaier; Hershel Raff; Kevin Strang

Eric Widmaier (Boston University), Hershel Raff (Medical College of Wisconsin), and Kevin Strang (University of Wisconsin) have taken on the challenge of maintaining the strengths and reputation of Vander&#39s Human Physiology: The Mechanisms of Body Function. Moving beyond the listing of mere facts, it stresses the causal chains ... More »

Vander's Human Physiology
Biological Rhythms and Exercise

90. Biological Rhythms and Exercise

By G. Atkinson; J. Waterhouse; T. Reilly

The effects of circadian rhythms on human performance in general and on response to exercise in particular are a well-known phenomenon. Often after a poor night's sleep or taking a "red-eye" flight into a different time-zone, one just doesn't feel like "themselves." This book aims to provide a ... More »

91. Functional Training Handbook

By Craig Liebenson

Reach a whole new level of physical training with Functional Training Handbook, whose big-picture approach to movement fosters lifelong health, mobility, and athletic development. This practical guide delivers clear, how-to- information, an array of sport-specific guidelines, and key principles that will keep your clients at peak performance.Join the ... More »

Functional Training Handbook
Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance

92. Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance

By Stuart McGill

Get the latest scientific evidence on back exercise - what helps and what hurts, and why, from a world renowned authority. Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance provides professionals with the evidence base to design and prescribe the best exercise programs for the back. A complete description of a ... More »

93. Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance

By William D. McArdle; Victor L. Katch; Frank I. Katch

Since publication of its First Edition in 1981, Exercise Physiology has helped more than 350,000 students build a solid foundation of the scientific principles underlying modern exercise physiology. This Seventh Edition has been thoroughly updated with all the most recent findings, guiding you to the latest understanding of ... More »

Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance
The Art of Hojo Undo: Power Training for Traditional Karate

94. The Art of Hojo Undo: Power Training for Traditional Karate

By Michael Clarke | Used Price: 50% Off

Silver Winner – 2010 IP'S Living Now Award1st Runner Up – 2010 Eric Hoffer AwardEndorsement - 2010 IP's Highlighted Title AwardFinalist – 2010 Book of the Year Award by ForeWord MagazineFinalist – 2010 USA Best Book AwardHojo ... More »

95. Periodization

By Tudor Bompa; G. Gregory Haff

Learn how to train for maximum gains with Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Training. Guided by the expertise of Tudor O. Bompa, the pioneer of periodization training, and leading periodization researcher G. Gregory Haff, you'll learn how to vary the intensity and volume of training ... More »

Periodization
Ultimate MMA Conditioning

96. Ultimate MMA Conditioning

By Joel Jamieson

Ultimate MMA Conditioning is foremost authority on how to get in shape for combat sports. Written by internationally renowned expert and strength and conditioning coach, Joel Jamieson, this book will give you a complete A-Z blueprint to radically improve conditioning through a unique scientifically proven approach. Top mixed ... More »

97. Brother Iron, Sister Steel: A Bodybuilder's Book

By Dave Draper | Used Price: 60% Off

Brother Iron, Sister Steel is a private journey into bodybuilding as only Dave Draper, former Mr. America, Mr. Universe and Mr. World, can tell it. Training techniques, exercise descriptions and nutritional strategies form the book's foundation, but what glues this book together are Dave's personal experiences and insights, ... More »

Brother Iron, Sister Steel: A Bodybuilder's Book
Championship Weightlifting

98. Championship Weightlifting

By Tommy Kono

Tommy Kono has won Olympic gold medals, one silver, was eight times world champion, set 26 world records spread over 4 bodyweight classes, was not subsidized, did not have fancy training quarters, coaches, or any of the things of today. How did he do it? How did he ... More »

99. The Poliquin Principles

By Charles Poliquin

The Poliquin Principles: Successful Methods for Strength and Mass Development is a 1997 bodybuilding and strength training book by Charles Poliquin, former strength and conditioning coach of the Canadian Olympic team, and currently the strength coach of several athletes competing in the NHL and other professional and amateur ... More »

The Poliquin Principles
The Purposeful Primitive

100. The Purposeful Primitive

By Marty Gallagher

Executed with the requisite tenacity, intensity and precision, Purposefully Primitive methods can and will favorably alter the compositional makeup of the human body. Primitive tools and simple modes are used to power sparse methods. We force the body to favorably reconfigure itself by generating physical and psychological fierceness ... More »