This an eclectic list of books on exercise I have read in the last several years. No claim is made at completeness, nor does inclusion or exclusion imply any opinion about any book.
Those books I feel are exceptionally good, I have marked with an asterisk.
Books Read – Exercise
*Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Training by Tudor Bompa and G Gregory Haff
Detailed study of training elite athletes. .
*Developing the Core by National Athletic and Strength Association
Great book on core training with excellent discussion and then 11 sports core exercise outlines
*Kettlebell Training by Steve Cotter
Great book on modern training techniques plus kettlebell training by one of the all time greats
*Kettlebell: The Complete Guide for Athletes and Coaches by Jeff Martone
good guide to kettble workouts
The Men’s Health Big Book of 15 Minute Workouts by Selene Yeager
collection of short workouts, mostly HIIT in style
*The Men’s Health Big Book of Exercises
Encyclopedic list of body weight exercises by body area, category of exercise and difficulty
7 Weeks to 300 Ups by Brett Stewart
very dense high volume progress to large number of situps
7 Weeks to 100 Pushups by Steve Speirs
dense high volume progress to large number of pushups
Ultimate Obstacle Race Training by Brett Stewart
dense workouts prep for obstacle races
7 Weeks to Getting Ripped by Brett Stetwart
Dense, high Volume progress for muscle ripping
7 Weeks to 50 Pullups by Brett Stewart
Very Dense, high volume progress to large number of pullups
Club Swinging Essential Manual by Brett Jones and Gray Cook
Good guide to old school club bell swinging
The Big Book of Clubbell Training by Scott Sonnon
Definitive Guide to swinging clubbells exercises in Scott Sonnon’s techniques
Serious Strength Training by Tudor Bompa, Mauro Di Pasquale, Lorenzo Cornacchia
Encyclopedic Approach to serious strength training
*The Complete Book of Core Training by Kurt, Brett and Mike Brungardt
Excellent listing lots of core exercises and nutrition advice
Get into shape: Crossfit WODS by Vince Knott
Simple listing of the Crossfit Workouts
101 WOD’s You Wish You Knew by Anthony LaMadre
Not Crossfit, but a listing good workouts
21 Day Kettlebell Swing Challenge by Josh Hillis
a 21 day tough kettlebell program well presented
101 Get-Lean Workouts and Strategies (101 Workouts) by Muscle and Fitness
101 workouts, very dense but good presentation
101 Muscle-Building Workouts & Nutrition Plans (101 Workouts) by Muscle and Fitness
another in the good 101 workout series
excellent guide to RKC Kettlebell Workouts
The Beast Tamer by Andrew Read
guide to achieving Beast Tamer status in the RKC
The Shock And Awe Protocol: Kettlebell Training For Size And Strength by Scott Lardella
excellent kettlebell program well laid out
Bench Press: The Science by Josh Bryant
review of scientific articles on the bench press, not a beginner book
Outstanding collection of workouts and approach to fitness from the jails well done. The authors interviewed men who will discuss their experiences in weight lifting behind bars and integrate this information into a well thought out book that provides both excellent programs for strength but also for size, which matters behind bars. The book includes lots of little gems of workouts that can be used for finishers or for friendly competitions among friends.
Gain Muscle Blueprint by Robbie Rourke
Personal opinions on attitudes and means of gaining muscle
*Extreme Kettlebell Exercises for Brutal Strength & Power by Simon Boulter
Excellent guide to heavy kettle bell exercise programs
Radical Body Transformation – The No B.S. Program That Will Build Muscle, Burn Fat, Enhance Performance and Improve Health (Mindset – The Iron Will To Succeed) by Stephen Williams
Program top build muscle and burn fat
The Master Keys to Strength and Fitness by Logan Christopher
Essay by Logan on getting fit. Rather Zen like
Kettle-Sthenics, the Revolutionary Kettlebell-Bodyweight 21-Day Program (HIKF)
By Mike Stefano
Introduction to one of the programs in Stefano’s NYC KB gym
Swing Your Way Fit, the Kettlebell Swing Guide (HIKF) by Mike Stefano
Good introduction to the Kettle bell two handed swing
Gymnast. Worlds Strongest Athlete. by Aaron Chase
Club guide to being a Gymnast
Gymnastic Flexibility by Aaron Chase
Club guide to gymnastic flexibility
*Strong Anywhere – The Minimalist Guide to Building Superhuman Strength by Simon Boulter
Another great book by Simon on strength building.
Hell’s Bells – An Underground Guide to Kettlebell Strength Training by Simon Boulter
Another great book on KB by Simon
*Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomyby Bret Contreras
Outstanding info on muscle and related bone anatomy – detailed and excellent
Beyond Self Resistance 15 Week Bodybuilding Introductory Mini Course … by Marlon Birch
How to workout out using the resistance of your own body – unique against your own body for resistance. Looks like the hard way to work out.
The Ultimate Guide to Pullups and Chin-upsby Logan Christopher
Good basic guide to pullups and chinups
Bodyweight Exercises: The Beginner’s Guide to Bodyweight Training … by Logan Christopher
Good basic guide to body weight workouts
*Pushing the Limits! Total Body Strength With No Equipment by Al Kavadlo
Great coffee table book with outstanding information on no equipment workouts. Lots of great pictures. Lots of progressions.
The Ultimate Guide to TT Metabolic Resistance Training by Craig Ballantyne
guide to the theory of resistance training, not a workout guide
*The Leg Training Bible (Bible Training Series) by Ashley Kalym
excellent guide to training the legs
*Kettlebell Konditioning by Ashley Kalym
Excellent guide to working out with kettlebells good pictures
*The Ultimate Guide to Bodyweight Ab Exercises (Ultimate Bodyweight Training Series) (Volume 4) ... by Logan Christopher
Good basic guide to body weight training
*Armored Core – An Uncommon Guide to Building a Powerful Midsection by Simon Boulter
Excellent bodyweight core building directions
*Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance– by Kelly Starlett and Glen Cordoza
Text on flexibility extensive, complete, excellent. Textbook depth directions on fexibility. Excellent reference book.
One Arm Pull Up: Bodyweight Training And Exercise Program For One Arm Pull Ups And Chin Ups by Patrick Barrett
Good guide to the one arm pullup progressions
100 Bodyweight Circuits for Strength, Fitness and Conditioning by Stephen Robson
AND
The Comprehensive Manual of Bodyweight Exercises. Fitness Training you can do anywhere from beginner to advanced by Stephen Robson
Two books that should have been one, good guide to bodyweight circuits
Brute Force Pull-Ups – How to Do 20 Pull-Ups & Build a Wide & Powerful Back in 1 Month Using the “Effortless” Pull-Ups System by Rich Bryda
Directions for a pullup progression using volume primarily
Abs Revealed by Jonathon Ross
Guide to 6 pack abs good
Ripped by Ashley Kalym
Good Guide to muscle ripping
Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding: The Complete A-Z Book on Muscle Building by Robert Kennedy
Everything a budding competive body builder needs to know
*The Men’s Health Big Book: Getting Abs: Get a Flat, Ripped Stomach and Your Strongest Body Ever–in Four Weeks by Adam Bornstein
excellent overall getting fit book. I highly recommend it. Lots of information and lots of myth destroying.
*Men’s Health Power Training: Build Bigger, Stronger Muscles with through Performance-based Conditioning by Robert Remedios
excellent directions for training, good progression of difficulty in body areas.
The Core Training Bible (The Bible Training Series) by Ashley Kalym
Guide to training the core, weakest of Kalym’s books
*The Pull-up Bible (The Bible Training Series) by Ashley Kalym
Good guide to the pullup progressions
*The Push-up Bible (The Bible Training Series) by Ashley Kalym
more than pullups but also planches, frog stands etc good progressions
*Cardio Core 4×4: The 20-Minute, No-Gym Workout That Will Transform Your Body!
By Jay Cardiello and Pete Williams
Good manifesto on fitness and then a good workout set that can be done in 4×4 ft space
Cardio Sucks!:The Simple Science of Burning Fat Fast and Getting in Shape (The Build Healthy Muscle Series) by Michael Matthews
Good general guide to fitness and nutrition
Becoming Bulletproof: An Uncommon Approach to Building a Resilient Body
by Mike McNiff and Tim Anderson
Basic idea here is get moving. Then some exercise progressions are laid out
Burst Workouts: Simple Quick Routines to Get Lean and Fit by Mike O’Donnell
High Intensity short duration (HIIT) workouts
The Lost Secret To A Great Body by David Bolton
review of the Physical Culturalist and a good updating of Attila’s workout program
Maximum Overdrive – High Performance Training for Explosive Power and Speed by Simon Boulter
Simon Boulter has written another fine book. This is decidedly only for the advanced athlete. Simon says bluntly that while the beginner or moderate athlete can use the first few (1-3 in each area) exercises, that the minimum level of performance to achieve before starting on the majority of exercises in this book is excellent total body flexibility, 10 pistols each leg and 1 to 1.5 x body weight in both squat and bench press.
The book is about development of strength and power with plyometrics or a medicine ball, or kettle bells as an alternative to barbells. Simon says the athlete can save both time and money using these explosive body weight, medicine ball, and kettle bell exercises as opposed to the longer gym time, coaching costs – essential Simon says – for Olympic style, and gym fees required to properly learn and develop the barbell equivalents. In fact, the pictures show Simon demonstrating these in a park. He also strongly recommends working on these on a soft lawn or sand, not concrete floors to protect joints as the landings can be jarring.
The explanations are very clear. and well written. The pictures are good and with the text a very clear picture of the exercises emerges. There are a few proofreading issues in the second half of the book, a word or two left out or a c for an s (contract vs contrast) type errors, but the meaning is crystal clear even with these.
The exercises Simon includes in this book are not new, although somewhat unfamiliar to many. But this is a very good presentation for those wanting to move out of the gym into body weight and simple tool advanced power & strength training.
A good buy for the advanced athlete.
Maximum Overdrive – High Performance Training for Explosive Power and Speed
Simon Boulter has written another fine book. This is decidedly only for the advanced athlete. Simon says bluntly that while the beginner or moderate athlete can use the first few (1-3 in each area) exercises, that the minimum level of performance to achieve before starting on the majority of exercises in this book is excellent total body flexibility, 10 pistols each leg and 1 to 1.5 x body weight in both squat and bench press.
The book is about development of strength and power with plyometrics or a medicine ball, or kettle bells as an alternative to barbells. Simon says the athlete can save both time and money using these explosive body weight, medicine ball, and kettle bell exercises as opposed to the longer gym time, coaching costs – essential Simon says – for Olympic style, and gym fees required to properly learn and develop the barbell equivalents. In fact, the pictures show Simon demonstrating these in a park. He also strongly recommends working on these on a soft lawn or sand, not concrete floors to protect joints as the landings can be jarring.
The explanations are very clear. and well written. The pictures are good and with the text a very clear picture of the exercises emerges. There are a few proofreading issues in the second half of the book, a word or two left out or a c for an s (contract vs contrast) type errors, but the meaning is crystal clear even with these.
The exercises Simon includes in this book are not new, although somewhat unfamiliar to many. But this is a very good presentation for those wanting to move out of the gym into body weight and simple tool advanced power & strength training.
Gladiator Project – Zach Even-Ash (e-book)
Tough, hard biting, real strength and size building guide
Zach Even-Ash has given us both his early history in lifting heavy for strength and size and a updated version of that program. Both programs are good. The newer one is based on more science and experience and is much more oriented toward today’s world than the older one.
Zach writes plainly, clearly, and with passion. He does not mince words for political correctness, but says it like it is.
Zach tells us the story of how he was working hard teaching both high school and college, trying to work out and finding a gym in which he could play his loud, pounding rock, drop weights, use chalk and other things the “soft gyms” would not allow. He built it himself in his parents unheated garage. From financial necessity, the gear was simple, used, from want ads and sufficed. He modified and adopted everything. The original program reflects this orientation and purpose and limitations. It is a tough total body strength and size program that worked for him and will for others if followed.
Zach says repeatedly that if you are in a sport, you need the basic strength of one or the other of these two programs, and the specific training for your sport. He emphasizes total core strength mixed with athleticism, mobility (Kelly Starret’s WOD), flexibilty, and endurance.
The updated program is still a basic, hardcore strength and size program. Again, if you are in a sport you need to include specifics from that sport. The program is well laid out, tough, and will do as it did for Zach, build a huge body. Unlike many other strength and size programs, Zach includes running sprints and jump rope.
Zach’s take on diet is simple – minimize bread, eat moderate carbs, fats and lots of protein.
Zach includes a chapter on lifestyle (honesty, integrity, commitment, work ethic). He repeatedly says that this is a life style, and must be lived 24/7, not just the few hours with your friends, the weights.
Zach has written an honest book, hard biting and tough. I think his heroes in the Golden Age of Weight Training and body building – which Zach places in the 60’s and 70’s. (Zach specifically mentions Frank Zane, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rocky, and Dave Draper.) – would be proud. If either of the programs are followed as clearly written, they are an excellent starting point for a truly magnificent physique.
Zach runs The Underground Strength Gym in New Jersey, is the founder of The Underground Strength Coach Certification. and has an excellent Face Book page and an excellent website. He is well qualified and personally experienced to write this book.