Sports Books

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.

When it takes the author(s) 72 pages to offer the first real bit of practical advice, you know that something is amiss. They are aware of the potential criticism that we all "know" how to walk, but they do themselves no favours by having so many preliminary chapters which are full of nothing other than platitudes and truisms, combined with a hard-sell of they method they are promoting.

When we get to the actual advice, there are plenty of photographs promoting one idea or another about perfect posture, but for the life of me, some of the points just escape me. For example, we are told to level the pelvis (imagining a basin of water which we must not allow to tilt, thus spilling the liquid) and we see the before and after photographs, emphasing the straight waistline, yet in a following paragraph we are told to lean forward (to use gravity) and the accompanying photo clearly has a tilted pelvis. Go figure.

This book could have been edited down to a fraction of its current length.

excellent book. well written, and instructive without being stiff. It will definitly become a part of my reference library.

Very good book Chi Walking: The Five Mindful Steps for Lifelong Health and Energy

Both Chi Walking & Chi Running have helped me immensely. I no longer have knee pain when I run and walking has felt almost effortless. The body sensing and relaxation techniques have helped so much even if I feel little twinges since the twinges go away. I highly recommend both books for anyone struggling with walking and running hang-ups.

Chi Running is one of my favorite running books because it taught me to run in a way that is effortless and natural. In Chi Walking, running coach Danny Dreyer applies the same principles to walking, but in my experience this does not work. The basic method in both books is to let the body tilt forward slightly so gravity pulls you along. In running this works fine because your feet land more on the toes thus absorbing the weight of the body with no shock. In walking however you land more on the heels or midfoot, so if you are tilted forward falling towards gravity, the full weight of the body slams the knees with each step.

After trying this method of walking for half an hour I was feeling this slamming and tension in my knees, and figured I might be doing it wrong. I carefully reread the instructions and made the forward tilt very slight, tried to land on the midfoot rather than heel, etc., yet still the knees were slammed with each step, and all my back muscles became tense from holding the slight tilt position. After three miles, I stopped because it was quite clear I was forcing my body into an unnatural motion and damaging it.

I looked on Mr. Dreyers blog where he notes that "umpteen" reader have complained that their feet were "slapping the pavement much harder" with this approach. He acknowledges that landing on the heels in this way is indeed "unhealthy for your knees, the slapping can bruise the metatarsal heads." He suggests that a change of technique--landing on the midfoot directly under the body, and twisting the pelvis--will completely eliminate this hazard. In my experience this is simply not true. These corrections slightly soften the bow, but there is still a noticeable shock to the knees on each step (the full weight of the body hits the knees at once instead of rocking onto them).

Mr. Dreyer as pictured in the book is a very light, small-framed person, so he can probably get way with walking like this. A heavier person using this approach regularly will in my opinion almost certainly damage their knees over the long term (or more likely they will stop using it because it feels so jarring and unnatural). The corrections Mr. Dreyer suggests are complex, subtle and insufficient to fully eliminate the increased shock of this method.

In my opinion this is a very risky technique, virtually impossible to use without shocking the legs and knees, hence the one star.

Addendum: The day after my three-mile trial of Chi Walking my knees are aching like I jumped off a ledge. Looking through my racewalking books, all advise upright posture, warning that a forward tilt puts strain on the neck muscles and knees. Ron Laird, who won more national championships than any other racewalker, writes in Fast Walking, "Keep an upright posture with your hips directly underneath you... leaning too far forward from your ankles or waist puts extra pressure on the knee joint."

I think Mr. Dreyer is unwise to assume the many readers who complained are all doing it wrong. They are alerting him that his emphasis on forward leaning is imbalanced and potentially injurious.

Swimming is such a technique oriented sport and it is almost impossible to hone your technique without a coach. I have been fortunate to have been coached by Emmett for the past seven years and I find something to work on at each practice. This is an excellent book for swimmers who have the discipline to coach themselves. The second part, Swimming the Right Way describes the techniques to streamline your body and maximize your power. By integrating this technical information with the workouts in part three you can ultimately translate theory into body memory. This takes some discipline and the rewards will be worth it. All you need to swim like a fish is in here. Just do it.

I grew up swimming competitively. I was introduced to Emmett in my early thirties and began attending his master classes a few years ago. Emmett is a fabulous communicator, and the concepts that he teaches completely revolutionized my swimming. I am now able to swim longer, faster, and with much less energy than ever before. Just recently, I placed second in my age group in a 2.4 mile swim in Austin, TX, and it was Emmett's training that took me the entire way.

I was at first skeptical that a book format of these concepts would be possible or as good as swimming with him personally, but this book completely blew that notion out of the water (so to speak). As I read the text and studied the diagrams, I was completely impressed with his abilities to communicate via the written word. It is an easy read, and the ideas are explained clearly and woven together beautifully. Studying this book, applying the concepts, and following the workouts will take you from complete novice highly skilled and efficient swimmer. I keep a copy of it on my nightstand, and it will probably remain there for many years to come. This book is a must read for anyone who thinks he might be interested in learning to swim or improving their already advanced swimming skills.

I really enjoyed reading this book and wanted to take the time to reivew it. I am an experienced swimmer, swimming for many years, coaching age group and master's teams over the years. I have also taught swimming at many levels. I tried to look at this book from the eyes of a beginner and found it very helpful. The book covered such topics as how to pick out a suit and goggles all the way to pool etiquette. How glad I am that Emmett covered that! As an experienced swimmer I found the workout information invaluable. The workouts are very good and I found the workout schedule or cycle very apppicable to my level of swimming. The more competitive swim cycle or season information helped me map out a plan for the coming year. So I can confidently recommend this book to the beginning swimmer and the more competitive swimmer.

Emmett Hines' book has been very helpful to me. I am a former college runner who had to switch to swimming after my legs went bad, so I was a complete novice, but one with mild competitive ambitions. After doing his drills, I am able to swim faster with less effort, allowing me to go further and faster. I can really notice the difference between the way I used to plow through the water versus the way I glide through it now.

When you first try these drills, they may seem awkward and frustrating, because they are different from your normal (and probably bad) swimming motions. Don't give up - after several workouts (maybe even several weeks' worth) I promise that eventually the light bulb will go on over your head and you'll say "Oh, now I get it!" This has happened to me numerous times doing Hines' drills. Your body will, seemingly magically, figure out what he's trying to show you.

We have a 1-mile swimming race every August here in Austin called the Deep Eddy Mile. My first year (2006) I completed the swim in 36 minutes, 13 seconds. After a year of using Hines' lessons, I knocked my time down to 34:20, and I can already tell that I'll probably knock off another minute or two this year.

Obviously, the best way to improve your swim technique is with a personal coach, but if (like me) you do not have the time or money for personal lessons, this book is an excellent alternative.

This is the best comprehensive freestyle book available, and I think I've read them all. I used the 1st edition about 6 years ago to rebuild my stroke, went through at least 2 copies of it and gave away about 4 others. The 2nd edition is not just a new cover: everything has been updated. Even if you have the 1st edition you should get this because it covers new developments in freestyle stroke mechanics. There are two elements that make this book exceptional. First is the instructional part, which puts hydrodynamics in practical terms, understandable to everyone and well-illustrated. It follows (maybe even leads) the current theories of efficient freestyle. It starts at a basic level, with balance drills etc, moving all the way through full-stroke integration, and then to power and speed. Second is the series of detailed workouts. It's the only book I know of that lays out a realistic workout progression for adult swimmers of any level. By realistic, I mean spending 50 to 75 mins a session, with a good combination of technique, endurance, and speed work. It's also realistic about the range of speed for most fitness swimmers -- so it's especially helpful for adult swimmers who want to learn or refine their freestyle and get a sense of accomplishment. You can start at the beginning and virtually coach your way through to the end. It's like doing Masters swimming with an expert, only self-coached. And Coach Hines has a distinctive sense of humor that makes an instructional book fun to read. A great accomplishment.

This is a good overview of the basics involved with personal training. Gives a list of expected skills and knowledge required for getting certified as a personal trainer. I found it a very useful book.

I got what I paid for and that makes me happy. My items arrived pretty much in the time frame promise and that makes me happy.

So, thanks guy. It was a pleasure doing business with you.

This book benefits a lot to the initial trainers who even have no idea of how to deal with the training. The book is both practical and praticable to the trainer's learning how to train others with his/her own training experience. Though there are not enough illustrations in the book, I still strongly recommend the book to beginning trainers.

Not a book that you will pick up to read unless you are taking exams or required reading as a student. I used it as a reference book mostly.

I don't know why I had so much trouble finding out what the primary resource was for the ACSM personal trainer cert was. But it is THIS book. Not the other books they mention on the website (they're a waste of money, in my opinion.) I searched a lot of places on the net and could not find one recommendation of a good way to study for this test. I have not taken this test but, I have bought this book and the other two books they recommend on their website, and my recommendation is to get this book alone. I have some background in health and fitness and I want to save time and money and do the minimum to past the test. That is why I recommend only this book. As far as I can tell, it is intended to be the source to study for that test. One of the OTHER two books they recommend on their website actually says in the beginning -- [this book is not intended to be used for the PT cert because this book was written before we finished the guidelines for the PT cert]. I read that and thought "what a rip off!!" So why mention it in your website? To make more money on selling books? Perhaps to give certain students an extra study material? I'm not sure. But I can say in my situation, I was not that happy, I was trying to be streamlined in my efforts and cost to prepare for the exam. Buying this book alone would have been sufficient for ME. (as best I can tell) I wish I had taken the test already so I could put out some additional useful information on studying for this test. I am not sure, but to me it seemed that there was little useful information out there about EXACTLY what to study. I am an adult with a job and family and things to do, and I don't want to be trying to read a bunch of idiotic supplemental books for a bozo PT exam. Just tell me what to study, I'll study it, give you the money for the test, and take the test and pass it. Is that too much to ask? I guess so. Anyway, for you people in a similar situation to me. Get THIS book and don't waste money on the guidelines for exercise testing and prescription, or the certification review (unless you feel you need extra material).
As for this book, its pretty boring, pretty dumbed-down. But it is very encompassing, clear in presentation and teaches someone how to be a personal trainer. So for that, its pretty cool.

I read several books while preparing for my first sprint triathlon. This book and "Slow Fat Triathlete" were my two favorites. Neither is too technical, but full of helpful "newbie" info.

I was a little hesitant to buy this book after reading some of the reviews saying it was "too basic." I found it very helpful, esp the nutritional info. The training plan seems a little unrealistic -- its a 12 week plan that starts out with only 15 minute workouts. All in all, the book included a lot of valuable information that has helped me progress in my training for my first tri, but I wouldn't follow it word for word.

This book offers a good inital overview for those just starting in triathlons. Might be a bit basic for those who are already accomplished in the swimming, biking, and running. Liked the chapter that outlined what to expect in your first race - good pointers.

If you want to do a triathlon and were not sure, this book will give you the information you will need.

I did my first triathlon (sprint distance) in September after three months training, and I was lucky enough to have found this book towards the beginning of my training. Needless to say I am hooked and can't wait to do another one!!! The book did an amazing job of preparing me by arming me with the information I needed to train properly, learn new sports (I had never biked or swam seriously before), eat right, and avoid injury, and yet avoided getting too "hard core" (when you do your first triathlon you keep wondering whether or not you're crazy). Joe keeps it manageable. There is a scary overwhelmed feeling you can get when you start reading about some of the crazy training schedules and techniques out there -- and he really clears through all that and gets to the essentials you need to know to make it through your training and cross the finish line. For example, his race day prep chapter really helped me visualize what to expect on the big day. Also, I really liked his approach to gear -- you can really get sucked into buying a bunch of stuff -- and he emphasizes ways to work with stuff you already have (ex: your old mountain bike) until you're more experienced and can better select the right gear to invest in. Overall, I really liked his fun-first emphasis, while providing what is clearly well-researched and high quality information. Two thumbs up!

Training Plans for Multisport Athletes: Your Essential Guide to Triathlon, Duathlon, XTERRA, Ironman, and Endurance Racing
This is an awesome book! It's exactly what I have been looking for. The training schedules are easy to follow. It also has all the information one would need regarding fueling etc. I love it! Denise, Vernon, B.C. Canada

This book has everything for the multi-sport athlete. I like how this book could help a person grow from a sprint to ironman triathlete. I have used this book to help make plans for friends who want to do duathlons and for myself to prepare for a series of olympic distance triathlons and one 70.3. I found her workout plans are a great guide post to building an individualized plan (gives a good base of what and how much I should be doing). If schedules permit, her workouts straight out of the book are wonderful! I really like how the workouts are rated not just by time, but by effort and I notice a steady build with more or less recovery weeks every 3-4 weeks---just like I've read a person should do to train. This has become my personal traithlon training bible complete with sticky-note tabs all through it for quick reference. I don't know how I ever prepared for a multisport without it!

This is a wonderful book for triathletes of all levels. Gale is both a gifted athlete and a talented writer. She presents the facts without getting overly complicated or high tech. She acknowledges the need for super effective time management without "dumbing down". I have been a fan of Gale's for many years due to her column in Triathlon Life magazine. This book expands on some of the concepts in her column and spells out succinctly how you can make your own plans happen.

She comes across as approachable without talking down. Yet Gale is one of the most accomplished coaches in the country, currently getting Team USA ready for Beijing. All that said, I do believe this book is best utilized by beginners....Still, it is a wonderful resource for the tri community - grab it and use it! And, enjoy.

I have looked at many books on multisport and have found this one to apply to a wide range of athletic abilities. Whether you want to do your first sprint triathlon or an Ironman, this book provides the tools to acheive results. Since I am not sure if I will be able to get into a 1/2 ironman in 2008, the book still gives me workouts that I can use for shorter distances. The plans in the book are realistic for mortals that have families and jobs that need some attention to.

My USAT coach recommneded this book after she found out that I really wanted not only how to finish a triatlhon race, but to learn how to create any kind of multi sport program in future instead of having a coach or web page making it for me (that saved me money too!).
I finished my very first racing season based on this book program and finished in a period of 8 months: 4 sprint Tri, 1 off road tri, and 2 olimpic distance tri, with no injuries and always improving my goals and times. Not bad for a beginer!
The book is full of codes and times that will lead you into a never-bored universe of drills and new stuff that will really improve your performance while having fun. It has programs for sprints, olimpic, half and Iroman, as well as year long training plans or only for a couple of months for those that are not sure if triathlons is for them. It appears to satisfy any lifestyle and is really great for beginers. Don't know about the pros, but I really enjoyed it.
Now I can taylor my own program that fits into my life style and race type, and always look for my coach supervision and make sure I'm in the right path.
I strongly recommend it!

I picked this book up because of the crazy-looking bird on the front cover -- I'm not a birder, nor did I think I had any interest in birding. But Dempsey's quick wit and hilarious anecdotes make the book not only a pleasure to read but also a really fascinating look into birdwatching, even for the uninitiated. The author is the antithesis of the geeky birdwatcher, relating his escapades with sharp, candid humor, and I found myself laughing out loud frequently -- beware of reading this in public places! It also made me much more curious about the birds I see every day, I even found myself wondering if I should buy a pair of binoculars and a bird book, just in case the brown bird with the reddish patch I keep seeing on the lawn really is a rare bird and not just some kind of sparrow.
I have been recommending this book to everyone I know -- birders or not. Anyone looking for a well-written, witty read would enjoy it, and it leaves you afterward with a new appreciation of the feathered beings in the backyard.

I started training for my first triathlon in April (completed it in August) and I am still 30 lbs over my goal weight. I am so glad I didn't wait until my body was 'perfect' before taking the plunge. This book is the user guide for anyone wanting to do the same thing. It takes the perspective of the healthy curved woman, not the stick thing mega jock. The author is inspiring and hilarious! I highly recommend this book to any woman doing a tri for the first time, especially if you are bigger than the typical super thin endurance athlete

I loved this book. I had a hard time putting it down. It offers inspiration to all of us who are fat and slow or just new to triathlon, and want to compete. I bought this one and Triathlon Training in 4 Hrs. a week. They go well together.

I love this book!!! It's great for unsure beginners!! The author really helps you with even the smallest details you need to know. I was so afraid to enter the tri world b/c I thought it was so elite but the author made me realize that ANYONE can do it and so can you!! Buy this book if you are new to triathlons and unsure of yourself. You will feel like a winner even before you race!!

Great book. Couldn't put it down- its not really a training book but a "calm your nerves, here is what it is really like" if you are slow, fat and want to be a triathlete. Of course, it works too if your not a slow fat triathlete as well.

This is a solid book written for the tri newbie or anyone interested in learning more about the sport. Don't buy this book if you're looking for a training manual or trying to figure out what you need to do to get prepared for your first race. It's a solid book to kick you in the rear and lead you to that next step if you can get past all the cliches & attempts at humor. The Triathlete's Training Bible is a "must read" if you're serious about putting together a plan of attack.

A must have. Great tips on how to improve your golf game. Unlike the ad naseum wave of golf instruction that one can get bogged down in in Golf Magazines and instructional videos, this is simple straight forward approaches to improve your game.

If I could compare this book to a golf swing, I would say the set-up and approach looked good, but the writing fell apart through the impact zone and follow through.

There is a lot of praise out there for Harvey Penick, and based upon the numerous comments in the book's forward by the well-known golfers he mentored, I have no doubts that the praise is well warranted. Unfortunately, while Penick himself in the book's introduction sets up his "Little Red Book" as a lifetime's masterful compilation of golf wisdom and best kept secrets finally made public, the book fails to live up to the author's own advertising and is a bit disappointing.

A fair amount of down-to-earth tips, techniques, and golfing philosophy that Harvey had applied to his students are shared in the book. And if just one of those tips can improve one's golf game, then I would say the book is worth the price. But too often, the "Little Red Book" comes off as an exercise in name-dropping and rambling golf anecdotes, many of which are not all that interesting nor amusing. It pains me to say that, knowing what a revered figure Harvey Penick has been to some in the golfing community, but that is just my honest assessment.

What also disappointed me about this book was that although Harvey Penick gives a couple of concessions to the virtue of humility, there appears to be a somewhat bragadocious quality to the narrative. That would be more excusable if the "Little Red Book" was in fact packed from cover to cover with the invaluable tips Penick promises in this introductory chapter, but that is not the case. Here is a short example of what I am talking about:

In the chapter titled "First Things First," Harvey writes about a man who came to his country club seeking out "this famous teacher, this Penick fellow." The man says if Harvey is "such a great teacher" perhaps he can give some advice on how to get out of sand traps. Harvey 's response - which abruptly ends the brief chapter - is something to the effect that it is better not to get into sand traps to begin with...a response that is not only rather obvious but neither practically helpful nor particularly clever.

That exemplifies too much of the tone of this book, which is unfortunate, because there are some good down-to-earth visualization techniques and other bits of instruction, which, if solely focused upon, would have made this a far better and more useful read.

An interesting mix of story, sayings, memoir and instruction..only the most ardent golfer or golf instructor could get much out of the instruction, but the story, sayings and memoirs are good, many outstandng.

The concept of the Little Red Boook is interesing and alluring to the reader. An interesting mix of information. Well worth the read, but it leaves the reader--at least this reader--wishing it was two books, one of instruction, one on the other interesting and insightful informaton in the book.

This book contains many entertaining anecdotes gathered over the course of may decades. Harvey Penick chose to become a teaching golf professional rather than barnstorm the country during those early years of golf tournaments when many professionals were simply glorified hustlers. Eventually Penick became widely respected and many notable players and duffers stopped over to visit him at the practice tee. Over time, the wooden shafted golf clubs gave way to titanium steel.

I certainly enjoyed the historical perspective that the book provided. Although some golf instruction is included in the book, it is more of a nostalgic look backwards to days spent in the Texas sun mowing the lawns and watering the greens. Reading a book like this is not a bad way to spend an afternoon. Harvey Penick had a good life.

If you are searching for a serious golf instruction manual, however, you may want to choose another book.

I am the author of Striking It Rich: Golf in the Kingdom with Generals, Patients and Pros

This book has been reviewed a lot and the golf advice is worthy of mention but the best parts of this book were the stories about the people he met along the way:

1. The story or Morris williams, Jr. dieing in a plane crash before going out on tour. "I had to relate the tragic news to his mother and father. His daddy fainted in my arms."
2. The day they played a money game with Titanic Thompson and the mystery player (Herman Kaiser) whom they recocnized only months later when his picture was in the paper (because he won the Masters).
And best of all...
3. The story of John Bredemus.

The book is very helpful in studying for the ACSM Exercise Specialist Exam. Chapter quizzes with answers and explanations are great!

As someone making a career move to something new I can say that this guide is an excellent source of information. I would recommend anyone who is going to become a personal trainer to purchase this guide.

I received my book brand New. It was affordable, it came on time, and it was in Great condition. Thank you Amazon!

To experience the Gold Standard in Personal Training, Call 559-696-4207. WE are members of the American College of Sports Medicine

I purchased this review thinking it was a primary source for the ACSM PT cert. It isn't. They mention it on the ACSM website. The first book they mention (ACSM's resources for the personal trainer...) is the actual primary resource. I wanted to get this book because it was cheaper and did not have the idiotic looking picture on the front like the "resources" book does. Then I had to spend more money to go back and get the dumb-looking resources book. Apparently the book is intended for other certifications in particular like exercise testing and maybe even the group fitness teaching cert. So as for my recommendation, if you are studying for the PT certification and have some background that makes you comfortable with fitness/health knowledge and you just want to know what ACSM wants you to know to pass the test, then get the "resources" book only and save the money on this one (BTW, I have not taken the test yet so that isn't a fully tested recommendation). If you are afraid of not passing, then this study material may be helpful to you.