Sports Books

This book was the required text for my Personal Fitness Trainer course. It's very interesting and informative. The only problem I have with the book is that sometimes it's extremely complicated to understand. That said, it was written for people who have already taken Anatomy & Physiology. I have not taken that class, so it may be simple enough for people who have taken A & P. Apart from that aspect, it is an excellent tool for study. I would even recommend it for those who want to learn how to better their lives by becoming more fit (and more aware), whether they take a class or not.

Not only does this book serve as a great classroom textbook, it is also great desk reference material that should be utilized by today's fitness professional. Jam-packed with the latest information from the authority in fitness, the ACSM.

My ten year old loves legos ... and I love peace and quiet in the car! This product worked out great as a "trip treat", the bag was great so he could keep track of them. We use an aluminum cake pan with a plastic cover for a lego desk/holder in the car, but the book with a bag made it so he could take it into the hotel and restaurant with no fuss ... and isn't that what every mom really wants ??? no fuss??? GO LEGOS!!!!!!!!

This has many fun and challenging activities a child can do with Legos. The projects use the pieces that come with the book plus basic pieces most Lego fans will already own. Easy to follow directions with fun results. The child can use the basic ideas and expand upon them, so this kit isn't limited as some are. We got it for my son's 10th birthday and I think it would be appropriate for an 8 to 14 year old.

I purchased two books. One for my 6-year old son and his same-age cousin. They both enjoy creating projects from their Lego books, as well as using some of the instructions along with their own ideas and creativity. I recommend this purchase.

He wasn't excited when he opened it up but after reading what you can do he got VERY excited and was looking forward to get home to his Legos.

I asked for this before Christmas and got in January. I didn't check the contents of the bag until Saturday (February 2nd) when I had time to start building the models. Six pices were missing, two of them very important (24-tooth gear wheels). I got some extra-pieces, but some models I won't be able to build because of the missing gear wheels. I tried returning the item to Amazon but I had until January 31st so if anyone buys this please check it very soon, the models are fine, easy to do, BUT I WANT MY MISSING PIECES!!!

I bought this book for my student/athlete son. I had him read the book and find five things that he could immediately apply to his life. The book is written in such a manner that the parallels between sports and life are seamlessly interwoven. By using sports as a platform of relativity, I feel I am raising my son to be a confident and responsible man. This is a must-read for fathers and sons.

This is one of my favorite books of tidbits. Basically coach Wooden gives his ideas on life, hard work, sports and manners. Through different stories of his life and experiences.

It really was a pleasure reading this book and I feel that the philosophy of coach wooden, based on hard work, trust, learning and being a good person is straight forward and a throw back to simpler values.

I have never heard of John Wooden until last Thursday. This book was recommended to me by two friends, as first I thought how is a retired basket coach going to give me some direction and clarity on life? WOW!!!!! Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down! I took to every word and read it in one evening (not a long read, but it makes you ponder over each sentence) and I was really sad that the book was coming to an end. It's an amazing book, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it anyone no matter where you're at in life. This is a book that I will refer back to time and time again throughout my life (I just know it!).

John Wooden has been blessed with such wisdom and he has used this blessing to build up and influence millions of people, young and old. I have many books by John Wooden and even though I usually buy them sight unseen I know I will never be disappointed...and I never have. This particular book is jammed packed with wonderful, thought provoking quotes and stories. I will treasure this book, along with all his others, forever.

Early in my coaching career, I was looking for a "style" and "philosophy" to call my own. I heard about "Wooden" from a friend - I read it and I instantly connected with Coach Wooden's words and lessons. His approach to coaching as "teaching," both on and off the court, resonated with me and the way I wanted to coach.

When I first read the book, I immediately incorporated Coach Wooden's quotes into all my talks with my teams. They affectionately referred to "Wooden" as the "bible" and many of them all went out and bought their own copies.

Now, I present my players with a copy of "Wooden" as soon as they make the team. The ones that read it all come back with a twinkle in their eyes - its a look of joy and understanding. I don't quote from Coach Wooden as much as I used to - I've found my own "philosophy" and "style" - but, if I ever hit a rough patch, the first person I go back to is Coach Wooden and his teachings.

This book provides detailed information about the development of the musculature of the horse and the effects of different training methodologies. Like many riders, I have often seen training methods that made me feel ill at ease, but I didn't really understand why. This book helped me understand why these methods are technically incorrect and often inhumane. This book is a great tool for those dressage enthusiasts who are concerned about the integrity and humaneness of our sport, and wish to safeguard the well-being of our equine partners!

Tug of War is a must read for all horse owners, especially show, dressage & western riders. This book has opened my eyes about bio-mechanics of horses and why they respond and behave the way they do. The picture on the front of the book looks extreme but just have a look at what is happening in Adult Riding Clubs, Pony Clubs etc, examples of over flexing and extreme bends are there. This book is for people with a driving force within that want change for themselves their horses and within the industry, well written and in basic terms so that you don't need a degree to understand.

This book is a must for all riders/trainers who love and care for horses. Reading it was a rude awakening for me since it showed me how harmful my "modern" training and riding were for my horses. I want healthy and happy horses so no more shortcuts for me.
Pascale

I would that every rider, regardless of discipline, would read this book. It relates excellent information that goes against the grain of much commonly held training. Our horses would move with more freedom and pleasure and have long careers instead of early retirements. Well illustrated and explained. It's actually a quick read. The principles are simple and consistent. Very accessible.

This book is great for riders, judges, and anyone interested in the good of their horse. Pictures are very informative to show correct & incorrect riding, training.

The Good
- This is a great book for mountain bikes. Since mountain bikes have a lot of "specialised parts" that road bikes don't have, e.g. suspension, disc brakes, v brakes, etc., this book is much better than books that cover all bikes in general. They just don't have sufficient detail in explaining MTB parts.

- This may be a bit subjective. Illustrations in the book are drawings instead of actual pictures. Drawings seem to give me pretty decent understanding on what the author describes. I have used a book with actual pictures but they sometimes are unable to show all the details that a drawing sometimes can.

The Bad? ... or what should be better?
- I would have preferred more pictures to describe a particular task. Reading a whole lot of detail can sometimes be difficult.

- Sections can be categorised in a more 'reading friendly' format. The previous book I had (sorry can't remember the author) sections it very nicely and makes it very quick to find items that you like to fix.

The good plus the bad, I rate this book 4 stars.

With all the advances in Bicycles over the years I needed this book and all the information inside. It is very easy to understand and provides the useful information I needed.

Excellent book full of information about MTB parts including differences from one brand to another. Full of drawings that helps understand how things should be done.

This book was recommended by a friend of mine to facilitate my Padawan ways of bike maintenance. I'm very impressed, and the illustrations are excellent. Everything is broken down into the most basic steps when making a repair/modification. It's so much easier to maintain and repair your own bike, than to have your LBS do it. Don't be a tool, buy the book.

Now although I ride alot, I'm not really big on reading Mountain bike books from cover to cover. And I actually refer to the companion Mountain Biking DVD-Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance DVD more often. This one, on the other hand is just a wealth of information. It covers so many different areas. I've looked at other books in the stores. If you want to own just one Mountain bike maintenance book, this is it. I myself only have one-this one. If you are a more visual person, as I am - get his DVD video. It's awesome too.Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance

I often ride my mountain bike at night and use these lighting products:Down Low Glow Lighting Kit - Two Tubes-Envy(green)

I am still a month away from my first triathlon but I have found this book to be a very, very sound guide. The advice provides has been perfect for me both in scope and depth.

I was completely please with this seller. The book arrived quickly and in excellent condition as described.

I have purchased quite a few books on beginner triathlon training and this is the best one I have found to help the first timer go from 0 to Sprint distance tri. Very concise and easy to follow.

I found this an easy to read and understand resource for the sport of triathlon. I have done a few shorter distances and this book has both peaked my interest and given me confidence to take on the next distance.

I like how it is organized... covers all the bases with good tips and photos throughout.

Highly recommended!

Allen

I've done 2 Ironman Triathlons and scores of sprints and 70.3's. This is the best book I have read about how to get started and keep going. It's easy to understand,and most important, correct. Everyone considering doing a triathlon, and people who are in it to stay should make this a must read.

This is the book I used when I got started reloading about 10 years ago, and this book gave me just what I needed. When I first got the itch to load my own ammunition, I was overwhelmed by the amount of information and terminology involved in this fascinating field/hobby. It was very difficult to take all the individual pieces of information that I had and form it into an understandable process. I was snowed in under a blizzard of data that I was piecing together through chat rooms and web sites. Everyone was very helpful - basically shooters are the most helpful people I know - but still I was just getting fragments without a solid, complete overview. Phrases like "roll crimp", "seating and sizer dies," and "headspace" came at me in a blizzard. I could look up each phrase, understand each one as a piece, but still the whole picture was fuzzy. In essence, that is what this book will do for you: turn it all into a coherent, linear whole. The writing is very solid and clear, the illustrations are well done and helpful, and the information is very complete. After reading this book, the entire process made sense to me, and more importantly, I was fully warned about the does and don'ts of the reloading world. The coverage is very complete. Primers, powders, bullets and cases are explained with regard to nomenclature and history. All necessary tools and accessories are discussed and explained. This is just a great book. It won't make you an expert (only actual reloading for years will do that), but it will put you on the right road if you wish to become one. --Mykal Banta

This book came highly recommended by members of a forum on reloading. I was not disappointed. I will recommend it myself. The book covers the bases and is easy to read. You will need to add other books to your library, ( such as load data for specific calibers ) but this is a very good place to start.

If you are a personal trainer or want to be a personal trainer, this is the book you need to read. Highly recommended.

I just took my Personal Training course and this book was recommended to me by the instructor. I think it is a great book and has a lot of information. I think the book would make a little more sense if I had more advanced schooling in Kinesiology or Physiotherapy; however, I was able to pull out the critical information that I needed to complete the course and learn a few things while I was at it.

This is a great book, incredibly high quality like a college text, and a long term part of your library. No wonder it costs a few bucks, but it's worth it. The information was well laid out and different experts wrote each chapter.

My personal trainer in NYC Joe DiAngelo http://www.musclebomb.com introduced me to this book. I loved it.
Great boook for people who wants to get into great shape. Must read.

This is pretty much the only book I've been reading for the past couple of months as I prepared for the NSCA's personal trainer exam. I am fairly sure I passed the exam, and I doubt I could have passed without the help of this book and NSCA's exercise techniques DVD which is sold separately. [Update - I DID pass the exam! :-) ] This 674 text is packed full of information and can not be breezed through Harriet Klausner style.

For the most part, I like the book, both as a study guide for the NSCA-PT exam and as a reference for someone in the fitness industry. Each chapter is written by one or more experts on that area of fitness or nutrition. Since the table of contents is not provided on the product page, I've listed the contents at the end. Most of the content is fairly well written, although it could use some tightening up in spots, or additional clarification in others. Being a visual learner, I appreciate the multitude of illustrations, drawings, and tables, and I can't think of any I didn't find helpful. For example, they don't just tell you what partner-assisted and partner-resisted towing are, they provide photographs of them. They don't just tell you what the barbell grips are, they provide illustrations of four grips. Tables are not just in black and white, but alternate rows have tan or light blue backgrounds, making it easier to read. Information in the tables is detailed, for example table 9.1, Coronary Artery Disease Risk Factor Thresholds from ACSM. Through no fault of the publishers, some of the information in this table is already outdated, as the latest data for hypercholesterolemia uses LDLs at >100 mg/dL (instead of >130 mg/dL) and the low HDLs is considered <40 mg/dL, not <35 mg/dL. That is the only information in the book that I know is out of date. Overall, it's a practical book, both for studying for the exam and as a reference book.

Unfortunately, this book has enough flaws that when combined, knock it down a star:
* Editing - I found scattered typos throughout the book. In addition, in the plyometrics chapter, when I was reading the paragraph titled "Pretraining Evaluation," on page 442, I experienced a deja vous. I had read the exact same paragraph on page 434.
* Study Questions - Many 21st century textbooks are packed with study questions and features to help the student learn and retain the material. Each chapter contains four multiple-choice study questions, which approximate the difficulty of the NSCA exam. That's okay, but I think there should have been more, perhaps 10 per chapter. The four study questions barely scratched the surface in covering the material. In addition, several study questions had typographical errors.
* Some of the material on the exam was not covered in the textbook. Please don't email me about this as it is not ethical for me to share those questions. In my opinion, if the material is important enough to be on the exam, it's important enough to include in the textbook.
*Difficulty of using the index. Throughout my studying and after the exam, there were some things that I know are in the book that I tried to look up-unsuccessfully. I tried several different words or phrases to find a concept, and still couldn't find many of them. For example, they briefly discuss water aerobics in the text, but neither "water aerobics" nor "aquatics" are in the index. I think the index needs to be fleshed out with more words that are likely ways one would phrase a concept.

Despite the flaws, it's a book worth having for the reasons mentioned earlier. After reading the NSCA textbook, I felt much more knowledgeable in certain aspects of fitness compared to when I read the ACE personal trainer manual (the edition used in 1999) or ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Training and Prescription, 6th ed. These areas include special populations, plyometrics, exercise techniques, and the specifics of putting someone on a weight training program (choosing the exercises, determining reps and weights, progressing the weights), etc.

Since there is no table of contents provided on the product page, here's an abbreviated version:

Part I. Exercise Sciences
Ch. 1. Muscle, Nervous, Skeletal Systems
Ch. 2. Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems
Ch. 3 Bioenergetics
Ch. 4. Biomechanics
Ch. 5. Resistance Training Adaptations
Ch. 6. Aerobic Training Adaptations
Ch. 7. Nutrition
Ch. 8. Exercise Psychology

Part II. Initial Consultation and Evaluation
Ch. 9. Client Consultation and Health Appraisal
Ch. 10. Fitness Assessment Selection and Administration
Ch. 11. Fitness Testing Protocols and Norms

Part III. Exercise Technique
Ch. 12. Flexibility, Body-Weight, and Stability Ball Exercises
Ch. 13. Resistance Training Exercise Techniques
Ch. 14. Cardiovascular Activity Techniques

Part IV. Program Design
Ch. 15. Resistance Training Program Design
Ch. 16. Aerobic Endurance Training Program Design
Ch. 17. Plyometric and Speed Training

Part V. Clients With Unique Needs
Ch. 18. Clients Who Are Pregnant, Older, or Preadolescent
Ch. 19. Clients With Nutritional and Metabolic Concerns
Ch. 20. Clients With Cardiovascular and Respiratory Conditions
Ch. 21. Clients With Orthopedic, Injury, and Rehabilitation Concerns
Ch. 22. Clients With Spinal Cord Injury, Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy
Ch. 23. Resistance Training for Clients Who Are Athletes

Part VI. Safety and Legal Issues
Ch. 24. Facility and Equipment Layout and Maintenance
Ch. 25. Legal Issues in Personal Training