One article to cover the best books in the fitness and nutrition industry just isn’t enough!    Having a game plan for your weight loss and fitness goals is essential to your long term success.  These books will not only help you plan your workouts and meals but they will also teach you the science behind everything you will do.

Here are five more of some of the best books written specifically for the fitness and nutrition industry by more of the most well respected trainers and nutritionists in the business.
  

1.  Maximum Strength - Eric Cressey CSCS

Eric Cressey is one of the most authoritative experts in the fitness industry.  He is a powerlifter, author, speaker and certified strength and conditioning coach.   Maximum Strength takes you through an intense 16-week program that will leave you stronger, bigger, and leaner than you ever thought possible.  All workouts in this book are built on solid research, science, and, most importantly, a track record of results!

2.  Body for Life - Bill Phillips

Body for Life by Bill Phillips could almost be considered a classic.  It has been around for 10 years and is still going strong.  This book, and the numerous support books including one specifically for women, give you a complete fitness and nutrition plan that can certainly put you on track for successful long-term weight loss.  The Body for Life website is a great accompaniment to the series with a ton of resources at your fingertips.

3.  Huge in a Hurry- Chad Waterbury

Chad Waterbury has established himself as one of the preeminate weight lifting gurus in the business.  He is a regular author for T-Nation.com and has published numerous results-backed routines.  Huge in a Hurry, published with Rodale (Men’s Health), gives you five new muscle building rules and the workouts built around them that will make you leaner, bigger, and stronger.

4.  The Abs Diet - David Zinczenko and Ted Spiker

The Abs Diet, from Men’s Health, suggests that “diet” is a new four-letter word.  It teaches you how to eat without being overly restrictive and gives you great workouts that complement your new eating plan.   The Abs Diet also has a number of supplemental books that will help you in your weight loss journey.  Quite simply, it is a sensible and sustainable plan for a new lifestyle.

5.  Eat This Not That- David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding 

Eat This Not That is a very comprehensive guide for what good foods to swap for those bad foods.   This isn’t a diet book that will give you meal plans and workouts but a guide to help you make the right choices.  Learn how the smallest choices you make at the grocery store or restaurant can make a big difference in your waistline!

These are just a  few more of the great books on the market today in the fitness and nutrition industry.  All of these books are well reviewed, well tested, and written by industry leading experts.  They are a great place to start and are great resources for even the most seasons fitness enthusiast.

Do you have any reading suggestions?  Just leave them in the comments below!

The fitness and nutrition industry is a multi-billion dollar per year juggernaut.  With a seemingly unending supply of information in print and on the internet, it has become increasingly difficult to determine who is trustworthy and who is out to just make a quick buck.

There are books and internet sites out there that pump out information from very confident sources with a litany of credentials after their name like MA, IFAA, CSCS, ATC, AFAA, NCSF, and a ton more.  If you’re new to fitness and nutrition, and are looking for a place to start, who do you trust to give you good, solid information that will help you in your weight loss efforts?

Here are five of some of the best books written specifically for the fitness and nutrition industry by a few of the most well respected trainers and nutritionists in the business.

1.  New Rules of Lifting - Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove

Lou Schuler mixes just the right amount of humor, real-life stories, nutritional information, fat loss and muscle building theories into the meat of the book and Alwyn Cosgrove creates some fantastic workouts.  There are enough workouts in this book alone to keep you busy for a year and put you in the best shape of your life.  Alwyn breaks the workouts down to three sections: Fat Loss, Hypertrophy, and Strength.  Each workout is meticulously designed to produce these results.  This book is great for both beginners and the experienced.  Oh, and it comes in a version for women as well!

2.  Power Training - Robert dos Remedios

Coach Robert dos Remedios is one of the elite strength and conditioning coaches in the country.  In Power Training, Coach Dos doesn’t just give you the workouts but he explains, in detail, what you are doing every step of the way.  This book is geared a little more to the exprienced fitness enthusiast but the science of his workouts are a great foundation for anyone interested in getting stronger and leaner.

3.  Metabolism Advantage - Dr. John Berardi

Dr. Berardi is one of, if not the leading authority on sports and fitness nutrition.  Metabolism advantage doesn’t just tell you what you should eat.  It gives you all of the science behind it as well as some great workouts to complement the meal plans.  This book focuses on speeding up your metabolism through proper nutrition and exercise.  If you are just starting out, this is a great book to add to your collection.

4.  Starting Strength - Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore

This book has been called “the best and most useful of fitness books”. Mark Rippetoe is a certified strength and conditioning coach, powerlifter, and one of the foremost fitness authorities in the industry.  Starting strength covers the “5 big lifts” in unbelievable detail and is a great starting point for those looking to start training as well as a great resource for the advanced lifter.

5.  The Zone - Dr. Barry Sears

Looking for a book that will give you a dietary roadmap for long-term weight loss success?  Check out The Zone.  If you’re looking for a fad diet, don’t buy this book.  Dr. Sears teaches you how to eat right by eating an insulin-resistant diet with the right protein/carbohydrate/fat balance.

These are but a few of the great books on the market today in the fitness and nutrition industry.  All of these books are well reviewed, well tested, and written by industry leading experts.  They are a great place to start and are great resources for even the most seasons fitness enthusiast.

Do you have any reading suggestions?  Just leave them in the comments below!

If you happened to catch the season premier of the Biggest Loser last night on NBC, you witnessed a prime (time) example of what could happen if you don’t exercise safety and common sense as well as your body. 

If you didn’t see it, the contestants were dropped off one mile from the finish line of the previous season’s season-ending marathon.  The first to complete the mile won immunity.  The contestant, Tracy, took off at the start and tried to run the mile.  The rest of the contestants had to carry her across the finish line where she passed out.  She ended up having to be flown out by helicopter to a local hospital.  The end result was her missing the entire first week of the competition.

Here are a few tips that may help you avoid injury when first beginning an exercise program.  If you don’t stay safe, you’ll find yourself staying home and not able to further your weight loss efforts by exercising.

Get a thorough physical

It may sound cliche, but do yourself a favor and get a physical before starting ANY exercise program.  This is especially true if you haven’t recently checked your blood pressure, had a cholesterol test, or a blood sugar test.  Other high risk factors include smoking, age Age (men > 45, women > 55), and a family history of heart issues.

If you have recently had a thorough physical and have been diagnosed with any of the above or fall into the other high risk categories, talk to your doctor and see what he or she recommends.  If you have received a clean bill of health, you’re ready to go!

Start slow

This one should be obvious.  If you are 5′-2″ and weigh 250-300 pounds, you are probably not going to be able to run a mile.  Just ask Tracey. There are some great programs out there to take you from sedentary to active in a smart way.  One such program is “Couch to 5K“. 

The same goes for any exercise program that includes resistance training (weight lifting).  If you don’t start slow and try that ‘program you used to use back in high school’, you may not injure yourself but you’ll probably be so sore that it will keep you sidelined just like an injury.

Stay hydrated

When you exercise, your body temperature will rise.  Your body will attempt to regulate the temperature so you will sweat.  When you sweat, you lose water.  You must replace the water you are losing or risk dehydration.  As we get older, our bodies have a harder time regulating its own temperature which makes proper hydration even more crucial.

A key to successful workouts is keeping well hydrated before, during and after exercise. The length of your workouts, heat, humidity and the amount you sweat are all major considerations for keeping your body in proper fluid balance. (source)

Maintain good form

This one is mainly for those choosing to lift weights.  Don’t assume you know how to perform any exercise.  Tiger Woods didn’t step up to a golf ball and drive it 300 yards on his first swing!  Do your research, observe and ask others in the gym…be confident you can perform the lift correctly before you attempt it.

If you have the means, a trainer is always an excellent option.  However, before hiring a trainer make sure you do you homework on them as well.  Trainers should be able to provide you a list of references.  Do yourself a favor and check the references as well as their trainer certification.

Know your limits

Finally, know your limits.   Push your limits but don’t exceed them.  This goes for any type of exercise.  If you’re barely able to jog a 10 minute mile, chances are that you aren’t ready for a 5 minute mile.  If you can barely bench press 135 lbs, don’t try anything more without a spotter.  While this may seem like common sense, many find themselves with an injury for trying to do more than they can handle.

Do you have any tips you’d like to share?  Please leave them in the comments below.

When you make the decision to lose weight and get in shape, you’re going to have to take valuable time out of your day to make it happen.  It takes time to plan out your meals, go jogging, and get into the gym…and it takes quite a bit of it.  If you’ve truly made the commitment, you will find the time to do all of these things.

So, here you are.  You’ve made the schedule adjustments and are motivated!  Your meals are planned, you workouts are scheduled and you’re ready to take on the world.  In other words, you’re making the sacrifices necessary for success.  Now, just make those sacrifices count and don’t cheat yourself.  Here are some tips on how to do just that.

Ok, so…yeah…the title is a bit deceptive but for those of you that are looking for a quick fix, you really need a reality check and hopefully this it.  If you really read the title then you may have realized I didn’t say anything about losing weight being fast!  Can you lose a lot of weight quickly?  Most certainly but the likelihood of you keeping that weight off is inversely proportional to your chances of keeping that weight off in the long run. 

What I mean is the faster you lose the weight, the less likely you are to keep it off.  This statement comes from personal experience and not from a scientific study.  Take a look at my completely made up graph that I dreamed up:

Completely Made Up Graph

There are anomalies.  There are some people that have dropped massive amounts of weight, quickly, and kept it off.  However, for the sake of this article we aren’t going to delve into how they accomplished it. 

If you are wanting, or needing, to lose a lot of weight and keep it off, here are a few pointers that may help you in that journey.