Sports Nutrition Books

Very informative and easy to understand. A MUST read for nutritionists, dietitions, and personal trainers. I also recommend for anyone curious about nutrition from the casual exerciser to seasoned athlete.

This is a common sense approach to weight loss and just feeling better. The only way I've ever lost weight is to eat low fat. You need not be an athlete or exercise regularly to benefit from Miss Clark's advice. It also helps those who might have problems concerning their heart, blood sugar, blood pressure et al. I've lost my craving for sugar and salt.

I've read about ten books on nutrition in the last several years, and Nancy Clark's "Sports Nutrition Guidebook" is without a doubt the best. It is clear, scientific, cuts straight through the fluff, entertaining, and has a wealth of information.

Also, if you want to lose weight, skip the fad diet books and read this one. This book has the most sensible advice on weight loss of any book I've read, unlike the numerous diet books that are written more to motivate the reader than to provide real information.

The book is well written with easy to understand concepts. You do not have to be a dietician to understand what Ms. Clark is talking about. The ideas apply to everyone, not just athletes. Granted, there is some in depth information for athletes regarding breakdown of food groups and timing of meals and snacks. No gimmicks here or selling of the latest and greatest "diet". Just solid nutrition!

"Boost your energy, reduce stress, lose body fat, build muscle, and improve your performance with the all-time best-selling sports nutrition guide."

This is the ONLY book on nutrition you need (besides In Defense of Health and my program). I honor and thank Nancy for writing the most complete, simple, and profound books on nutrition.

Don't waste your time, energy, and money with all the new fad diets that promise quick-fixes and instant-results with "super food", "magic pill", or "secret supplement."

Eat 5-7 times small, balanced, natural meals a day; drink plenty of water; and eat in accordance to activity level.

Being healthy isn't hard once you know the right information. This book has it.

this was a hard cover addition in very good condition.....my copy was in shreds since i use it all the time.....and do not find the recipes out dated........i highly recommend amazon for satisfaction with your order

A friend who had lost and maintained her weight loss with this book recommended it to me after the birth of my daughter, when I couldn't lose the considerable weight I had gained. I started cooking exclusively out of this book (a different recipe every night) and the weight melted off! This is quite a feat, as my first child was born when I was 41. I DID have to buy a food processor, though, as some of my favorite recipes took forever to put together without it. WITH it, a snap. And BEST OF ALL - the recipes are delicious! My husband loves them, my children love (most of) them. Ms. Brody does not shun salt, fat or meat, but she does limit them. We continue to cook regularly out of this book - it is falling apart.

I'm a huge Jane Brody fan. Over the past 10 years, I've bought several copies of "Good Food" and "Good Food Gourmet." I've worn out a few of my own copies and have found it the perfect gift for those I care about. Because of Ms. Brody's dedication to healthy eating and use of diverse foods, I have kids that eat vegetables and people that are always asking for the recipe. If you are looking to learn how to cook, eat better, or feel better, I couldn't think of a better book to suggest. Today, I am ordering a copy of the Good Food Book for my sister-in-law for Christmas. She loved the sweet and sour cabbage rolls I made at a recent party.

Living is easy when you follow Jane Brody's advice to health eating. The recipes are easy to follow and have ingredients common to most kitchens. Some of the recipes are a bit bland but can easily be spiced up with a little help from a kitchen herb garden or spice rack.

I have used Jane Brody's book so much that the pages were yellow and torn. I was glad Amazon could supply me with a crisp, clean copy.
I put the old one in our high-rise book exchange area. It was gone the next day.

This good is very book. You should read it if you're interested in positive parenting, respectful parenting.
Yet, if you're already used to these ideas, use them daily and have read a lot about it already, it will pobably prove redundant. Still I read it with pleasure.

i am finding this book to be full of useful, thoughtful and helful advice. i enjoy dr. jenn's voice and perspective. i am a new parent i am enjoying reading about how to foster trust and openness in my relationship w/my children, and how to encourage their creativity, honesty and conifdence. i am also a seasonsed teacher and found the information and suggestions on sports, diet, and other issues that relate to girls to be especially insightful. i am almost finished reading the book and i look forward to using it as a resource for years to come.

i highly recommend 'raising happy, confident kids!'

This book is so useful, even for Grandmas like me. There is always more to learn about raising a child and these times are so much more complex than the 70s when I did my Mommying. Dr. Jenn makes everything clear and even adds a touch of humor. The separate chapters make it possible to address just one question or you can read it through. I'd recommend this book to everyone who has a child or grandchild in their life or one on the way.

As a psychotherapist, I read many books and often make recommendations to clients. This book is at the top of my list. Dr. Berman has done a wonderful job summarizing some of the most important things parents need to know so as to raise happy, healthy, confident kids. I enthusiastically recommend this magnificent, practical, fun, interesting, and easy-to-read book to any parent. It really is a must read!

I have a ten month old daughter. I want nothing more for this beautiful little girl, than to be happy and confident. Kids are cruel, school can be brutal, and I'm hoping to get her off on the right foot with some self esteem. This book didn't really provide great advice on how to help her achieve that.

This book is more of a comprehensive guide to parenting. Much of the content is things I would have done anyway, sort of common sense parenting to those of us who care enough to read a parenting book. Many of the topics, while relavent to parenting, fail to relate back to the confidence issue I was looking for.

Having said that, there are a few good nuggets. My opinion is that this is a book that would best be checked out from a library, and not necessarily purchased for ones frequent reference.

This book provides great resources to live a better lifestyle. I love the way Jeremy documents his accomplishments and failures. He proves that one should not give up on their dreams but rather set goals so they can achieve their dreams.

Jeremy's book is separated into three parts: Mind set, Nutrition, Exercise. The mind set is a motivational section that describes what tools a person needs to achieve their goals. This was my favorite section of the entire book!

The next section is the Nutrition section. In this section Jeremy talks about what foods to consider eating. This section does not contain a diet plan rather Jeremy attempts to educate the readers about the properties of the different food groups. This section contains great information and gives the reader an idea of what foods are made of thus allowing the reader to decide for themselves what foods are good and what foods are bad.

The final section of this book talks about exercise. Jeremy describes some exercises and explains some different ways to do them. This is a great section if you are not familiar with weight lifting. Some of the exercises Jeremy describes are the Squat, Dead Lift, and Bench Press.

This really is an amazing book. I don't contain the words to do this book any justice. BUY THIS BOOK!

I've read a lot of these type of books. A lot of similarities and a lot of contradictions between books. This books is the most comprehensive one I've read. I've reread it several times and get something new out of it each time.

a great book to read before your weight loss journey. Very well written and it has a good progression of all facets of a weight loss approach minus the recipes.

Through my life I have wanted to change from being an out of control eater to a well controlled person. Eating has been my biggest down fall and I have turned to food for many hiccups through life for comfort.

Jeremy has written this book to talk about his struggles through live and how he learned to over come them. He is transparent with his thoughts and his writing.

It has been encourgaging to read a book that puts the prospective of our mind set in the forefront of our struggle of life. It is our mind set that allows or disallows what we can or cannot achieve in life; and the mind set is choice by each of us as Jeremy helps us see.

The book is easliy read, full of tons of information, inspiration, and truths that we can all use on our journeys through life.

It was also encouraging that when you get on Jeremy's website and you ask a question. . . . he writes! Thanks Jeremy!

It has been said that the way to make money quickly in the book industry is self-help or weight loss fitness books. This book does not really fall into that category. It is written with a passion for a subject and based on personal experience and transformation. There are a number of factors that make this an exceptional book, and even more so an extraordinary fitness book. First is the way it is written - each chapter is written in two parts. It begins with the meat of the matter, the teaching about, health, fitness, wellness ... the second part of each chapter is the personal narrative of Jeremy's journey from being unhealthy to healthy. Mr. Likeness gives numerous examples from his own fitness journey and some from those he has helped to move along that path. In the same way that Sylvester Stallone did in his book Sly Moves : My Proven Program to Lose Weight, Build Strength, Gain Will Power, and Live your Dream.

This book is in part written around the philosophy from the book Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength by Bill Phillips, yet it goes into much greater depth on some of the non-physical factors of health and weight loss or weight management. It deals with issues of stress, family life and work factors that can either help or hinder the physical transformation a person desires to make. This book has a very holistic approach to health and fitness. It presents the argument that in order to make lasting changes in your life, those changes must begin from the inside; transformation starts in the heart and in the mind and then works out in the body. Jeremy states: "Physique transformation is about more than simply losing weight. You will find that your life changes in many ways, too. You adjust to new clothing, a new image in the mirror, even a new sense of energy that allows you to achieve more during the day. Spiritually and mentally, you may change as well. Although these changes are almost always positive, change itself can be something that we fear. For this reason, it is important to understand what changes to expect to better prepare yourself as the process unfolds." Once the physical changes start to become more evident, you will have both positive and negative comments from people in your life. Likeness helps to provide some tools for dealing with both types. An example he gives is that if you have been over weight for a long time, you might not be accustomed to compliments - you will have to learn how to receive them and take some of them to heart.

This book, as the techniques in it are applied, can be a great tool for helping a person achieve greater health and wellbeing. This can be a factor in a longer and happier life. If these goals are things you have been thinking about, or have started working on, pick up this book to help boost your resolve and efforts to make your lifestyle changes.

(First Published in Imprint 2008-05-30.)

Kathryne's book has been a great source of continued proof that the traditional foods recommended by the Weston A. Price Foundation and her book are indeed healing. I found Kathryne's book a very well written to the point resource for active people who have encountered various health issues that interfere with performance athletic and artistic. For those who have tried the advice of mainstream health care and feel frustrated and let down this book is a welcome source of education and support in how to take an active role in healing oneself. Kathryne's personal story is a testimony as are the many others who have found and follow these principles to overcome often debilitating health problems myself included.
I love that the book is straight forward,to the point and an easy read. The recipes are great too.
I make the gluten-free nut crackers all the time as well as nourishing bone broths.
This book is worth the investment and I highly recommend it!

"The proof is in the pudding," as the saying goes. My wife and I both follow Ms. Pirtle's dietary suggestions with excellent results. Well, actually my wife suffers with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), and has to eat much less dairy food than I do. But, there are many things about Pirtle's suggestions that are working for her, too.

The main point to grasp is that each person must experiment to find what works for his or her metabolic type. Ratios, portions, how often per week, etc. are also as important as what one digests. Anyone who balks at giving this diet the "college try" has obviously not suffered enough - yet. That person may also have a spouse who enjoys so large an annual income, and therefore does not need to be concerned about being physically non-functional. You show me a person who makes a living, and supports a family, as a musician, typist, computer operator, seamstress, tailor, and anyone who works with his or her hands, and who has debilitating (or chronically annoying) pain in his or her hands, arms, elbows, shoulders or back, and I'll show you a person is willing to try this - and anything else.

When one eventually tires of going to a doctor, getting another prescription that is frightening for its acknowledged, potential damage to ones liver, kidneys, gut and heart, Pirtle's suggestions may look a lot more promising and appealing.

To those who fear that they will develop a high bad cholesterol count, on a diet such as she suggests, I offer the following personal anecdote. Someone would have to explain to me why it is that, years ago, when I went on the extreme first two week regimen of the Dr. Atkins diet, my bad cholesterol level dropped like a rock. It was so low, that my physician laughed with glee over my lab report. He, who for so long was dead set against the Atkins diet, finally read Atkins' books. When he called, to give me the lab report, he said, "You are obviously addicted and allergic to carbos. What you crave most is what you are allergic to." During the first two weeks, I ate 3 eggs and 3 sausages every morning. For lunch and supper I ate double portions of red meat, lamb, pork, bacon, chicken, or fish. In between meals I ate lots of salami, prosciutto (Italian ham), and cheese. Water was my only beverage!. I ate and drank enough (water) to fill my stomach to satisfaction, and my cholesterol went way, way down into the "no risk at all" level. Following that two week period, if I were to introduce ANY grains, or even one slice of bread, my weight would increase and my bad cholesterol would increase. I could eat greens with no bad effect, even though they contain some carbohydrates. I know this for a fact because I was tested again. Now, some physician would have to explain why this is so. Meanwhile, I am not worried about Ms. Pirtle's dairy and meat-heavy dietary suggestions. I only suggest that one eat grass-fed beef , organically grown vegetables, and the dairy products as suggested by Ms. Pirtle.

Another side effect of my all protein diet was that I stopped snoring altogether, I needed about 2 hours less sleep, I felt like I was 18 years old again, and I lost all craving for pasta, raviolis, pierogis, lasagna, cake, bread and doughnuts. I could look at that stuff and turn away from it, whereas prior to that I had a "monkey on my back" that made me feel as though "I must eat some starch RIGHT NOW, or else I will lose my mind." This is precisely why I am grateful to Ms. Pirtle for writing her book; I have much the same experience on her suggested diet.

As far as "leaky gut" is concerned, anyone who suffers from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) would do themselves a favor by reading A New IBS Solution, by author Mark Pimentel, MD. Its sub-title is Bacteria - the missing link in treating irritable bowel syndrome. Ms. Pirtle's suggestions center on this need for good bacteria; bacteria that has not been cooked and processed out of our food. We are still following the high-density, nutritional recipes that she suggests in her book can only say that we do very well on them. We are undaunted by the fact that the recipes are more time-consuming than those of the "normal" American diet; we base our convictions upon results that keep us working and playing (sports) without pain or discomfort.

This book is exactly what I needed in my quest for an improved diet. I have Celiac disease (as does the author of the book) and I struggle with Osteoporosis. My 14 year old son also has Celiac disease and is slow to grow. My daughter is Autistic and has many gastrointestinal issues. The principles in this book allow me to maximize the nutrition of my family in a way that benefits all of us. Yes, it does require one to go back to the kitchen and put more effort into creating food from scratch but the benefits far outway the negatives. It makes me feel good that I am providing higher levels of vitamins and minerals to my kids in a more effective manner than simply popping a vitamin pill in their mouths.

I am convinced that the large food manufacturers in this country have totally impoverished our food supply. Dr Weston A Price first discovered this in the 1930's. As hard as it is going to be for the general public to understand "where we went wrong", I believe that, with the help of Kathryn Pirtles book, we must begin to teach the truth about what is healthy and what is not.

Kathryn Pirtle's book literally saved my life. I felt as though I was at the "end of my rope". My story was very similar to Kathryn's in that I had searched for years and had done all the "right" things by eating healthy (I was a vegetarian for 10 years), had been in the care of many alternative practitioners and had consulted many books and methodologies for healthier eating and living. By the age of 45, I had serious acid reflux problems and as a singer had survived 4 vocal surgeries for varicose veins and pollups on my vocal cords. As a professional singer, it was a depressing reality to say the least. I happened upon Kathy's book and couldn't put it down. Because of the simplicity of the layout of the book and it's easy to follow ideas, I immediately began to incorporate the recipes suggested into my diet and found myself feeling better and better over time. I am now medication free and no longer have symptoms. I feel stronger than ever and am now able to work out without pain. At 50, I feel better than ever. I continue to follow the healthy eating principles laid out in the book.

Kathy's book is easy to read, easy to follow and gives you practical solutions that you can begin to implement into your life immediately. The information is succinct, to the point, is supported by years of research and it WORKS!! There are also many references at the end of the book for supplemental support in the way of companies that provide great health and food products.

This book is a must have for anyone who is serious about taking the responsibility of their health into their own hands. No doctor or health practitioner can live your life for you and tell you what to do each day. This book gives you a practical guide for healthy eating to do just that. And it is workable, feasible and delivers results. I highly recommend that if you are ready to take charge of your own health and ultimate destiny, this book is a must!

This book is a blessing! It is easy to read and understand. It will show you how to heal your digestion using the principles of a nourishing traditions diet. While it may seem to be a lot of work, it really is not! While nuts soak and dehydrate, you can leave your house and go about your work. You can easily culture foods such as kefir with practically no work at all. These things sit on your kitchen counter while you are focused on other things. But mostly, this diet nearly instantly relieves gastric distress, it begins to re-implant the digestive tract with healthy live bacteria, and it soothes an inflamed gut. I highly recommend this for anyone suffering with digestive problems.

I found this book to be well written and factual. I like the care Eberle has taken to cover the pros and cons, risks and rewards, of various common methods and dietary recommendations. In the section on dietary supplements Eberle says "When it comes to deciphering health claims, a healthy dose of skepticism and a bit of common sense can help steer you through the maze." that sort of good judgment is typical here. I think a lot of crap (correction, I should say pseudoscience) has been written on the subject of sports nutrition. Eberle helps you sort out what is based on the evidence and what is not. I like that and recommend this book. The title says it all.

I haven't had a chance to read the whole book however what I have read has been helpful and informative. The book itself was shipped in excellent condition and, like many of the books I've bought through Amazon, I think I purchased it used and it looks new. And, I don't plan on just using it to balance out my washing machine ;-).

I've been running since I was in high school and continued during and after graduationg college. It wasn't until recently that I decided to run my first half marathon. I have read lots of material on training and nutrition, but none have been as complete and informative. The first eight chapters are devoted to all endurance athletes. The last few chapters are each devoted to a particular endurance sport. This book has taught me how to fully prepare and train to successfully reach my goal. I would suggest this book for anyone interested in endurance sports.

Suzanne knows her stuff. I've been an ultrarunner and endurance athlete for nearly 25 years and I find Suzanne's wisdom and advice both on target and incredibly helpful. In fact, as I get older, which I am, her advice is seemingly even more relevant. Following her advice on everything from hydration to nutrition to stretching has been vital to me being able to keep doing what I love to do. The bottom line is that proper nutrition is key to optimal performance and the information in this book can ensure you're geting both.

This is a serious sports nutrition book for serious athletes. It is packed with information for the endurance athlete or those coaching endurance/elite athletes. In addition to providing a complete nutritional overview for the elite athlete, Endurance Sports touches on other related subjects such as hydration, the effectiveness of supplements, food intolerances, eating disorders and even optimal eating for the vegetarian athlete. As a nutrition writer, this book is an integral part of my reference library.

Many pictures, table, and related figure were sufficient to understand in physiological mechanism in condition to exercising. Especially, the last chapter was very impressed in my insufficient knowledge of molecular and cellular for exercise physiology.

Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance (Exercise Physiology ( MC Ardle))

When I first considered this book, I thought it was a little pricey. Now that I have it on my shelf, I think it would be cheap at twice the price. Every time I have a question on my personal fitness program, I find the answer in McArdle. Even when I don't have a question, simply reading the book teaches me things that I need to know and hadn't thought about. An excellent value.

I have been a fitness trainer for 20 years. I have read many books. This one is one of the best thus far. I highly recommend it !

This is the only reference book I have and need on Exercise Physiology. Most useful to me are chapters on performance enhacement, high altitude acclimatisation and physical training for seniors. The first few introductory chapters and the first few pages of each chapter remind me of my basic life sciences. The authors then focus on the application of cell biology to training. The thing I like most about this book, is that there is no "guru talk". Every piece of advice is based on currect research.

The book is divided into 7 sections. 1. Nutrition, 2. Energy production, 3. Energy Delivery & Utilisation, 3. Enhancement of Energy Capacity, 4. Environmental Stress, 5. Body Composition & Weight Control, 7. Successful Aging, Disease Prevention.

It's a very thick book, but the paper quality is high and the colourful illustrations make it a joy to read. However, this is not simple book for the average man on the street. There is nothing sensational here - just pure science. Readers without a background in the life sciences may not be able to follow.

I am a Personal Training manager with a Physical Education undergraduate degree and Health Preservation and Rehabilitation graduate degree.
I consider that the science of exercise physiology should constitute the basic knowledge for anybody who wants to understands the way the human body functionates and acutely and chronicaly adapts to the exercise stimuli.
No matter you are(or preparing to become) a PE teacher, sport medicine specialist, personal trainer, physical therapist,athletic coach,etc, you should understand the science of exercise physiology.
Dr. McArdle's " Exercise physiology" is definetely one of the most complete books ever writen on the subject. With miriads of grafics and pictures, and tons of scientific research descriptions and results, the book is quite pleasing to read and very convincing.
With more than 1000 pages, definetelly worths its price and even more. Contains as much information as you could find in 3-4 good scientific books and much more than the complete colection of "Muscle and Fitness" starting from 1970.
You can find detailed informations together with all the book ilustrations and even 4 complete chapters at: www.connection.LWW.com/go/mcardle

It's been said before, this book is not only for the athletes, it can be applied to anyone who wants to gain knowledge about nutrition. Of course he does address the athlete needs over and above non-athletes, so any serious athlete should not miss out on this important information. Every mineral and vitamin is covered in separate chapters with references to scientific quality studies. You will also find useful information about soy, creatine, melatonin and more. It makes for easy reading and the book is usable as a reference book. The writing style is easy to follow, but he does down-talk FDA numerous times, so if you just ignore that and focus on the facts, this book is excellent. It also covers the importance of antioxidants. HOWEVER, it is written in 2002 and stuff has happened since then, therefore you also NEED his "You can prevent cancer" from 2006 or better yet "Brain Power" in order to get the important info about "Mitochondrial Antioxidants". 90% of free radicals made in your body are generated at the mitochondria and ordinary antioxidants CANNOT neutralize them! "Sports Nutrition" does not cover the "Mitochondrial Antioxidants", that's why.

I bought this book for my husband, who lives by the first Sports Nutrition Guide by Dr. Colgan. His old book has significant signs of wear and tear from overuse, so I thought my husband would be happy to receive Dr. Colgan's more recent publication of Sports Nutrition and I was right! Now he's constantly referring and comparting and incorporating the information he finds in this book into his health regime!

I am not sure about this book. It is very informative. It is easy to read and comprehend but it tends to stear me in another direction since this book tends to down the ADA (American Dietetic Association). The book is broken down into individual chapters about each mineral and vitamin and what it does to your body if you're an athlete. I am a nutritional consultant and never really learned much about sports nutrition in school. This is my first book on sports nutrition so I really have no comparision. Like I stated before, it tends to go against my believe system and the knowledge I have gained in clinical nutrition.

Not just "athletes." Essentially, this is an update to Colgan's popular "Sports Nutrition Guide" from 1993. Along with Dr. andrew Weil, Colgan is one of the only "doctors" who truly understands how degraded our food supply is relative to what is natural and healthy, and even more so than Weil, Colgan really tells it like it is and lays it on thick! i have been a long time follower of Colgan, and credit him for much of my success in bodybuilding, powerlifting, and professionally as a Personal Trainer. Colgan helped me on my way to becomming a trainer with much enhanced knowledge of nutrition that helped many a client achieve amazing results (especially compared to the knucklehead trainers who told their overweight clients to eat a bagle for breakfast, and/or to do more cardio to lose fat!). Colgan does not take any balogna from mainstream western medicine and the mess it has created, instead, he will expose the lies and show you the truth in a way that your intuition (and any research, if you have doubts), will assure you is correct!

As there are many books on the market concerning this topic, this one actually explains step by step why each supplement is important in our diet. A must read for anyone that is serious about a healthy lifestyle.
Do not hesitate to buy this book, you will not regret any of its pages.
Just look at the pictures of Dr. Michael Colgan for the results!

Information filled book, a real must have for anyone owning or taking care of a horse!

I really liked this book. It had a lot of useful info that was presented in an organized way. I also found it helpful that specific supplements were tested and recommended for each topic ("Skin and Coat" or "Immune System", etc). This book is money well spent.

I like this book and it's format very much. I have several of Dr. Kellon's publications and this one is as good as all her others.

I agree with Ms Larson's comment about her First Aid book. I keep my copy in my first aid box (a step-stool toolbox) so that it's right where I need it - at the barn or on the road in the trailer.

Another very good book about Nutrition and supplements is Dr. Kellon's "Equine Supplements and Nutraceuticals: A Guide to Peak Health and Performance" http://www.amazon.com/Equine-Supplements-Nutraceuticals-Health-Performance/dp/091432778X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222983953&sr=1-4

Working with Dr. Kellon has given me a whole new way of thinking about equine nutrition and this book is a wonderful "at home" reference. Never again will I believe the hype and sales pitches of feed and supplement manufacturers. I now know how to figure out exactly what my horse's diet does and does not need.

The information in this book is presented in Dr. Kellon's no-nonsense, scientifically based style which is both refreshing and reassuring. If you want a straightforward guide to supplementing your horse, this is it.

Dr. Kellon is the world-famous equine nutritionist. She is also the vet editor of John Lyons Perfect Horse and Horse Journal. Famous for her no-nonsense style and attention to detail, this book is a wonderful resource. She covers everything from antioxidants to joint support to feeding the senior horse. It is a must-have for horse owners.
For those who want even more detail than this book provides, Dr. Kellon also has on-line courses covering a range of subjects from nutrition to cushings to understanding bloodwork.

Peak Performance is the perfect companion for the athlete or coach looking for every ounce of accurate practical information available from sports scientists. John Hawley and Louise Burke (world leaders in sport related science) have teamed up to produce the "lay-persons" guide to improved athletic performance. Peak performance introduces us to the founding fathers of modern athletic training. Our authors then explore the facts that have been uncovered by exercise scientists attempting to discover proof of what produces optimal performance. An excellent blend of theory and practice!

After battling with a school physical education project on training principles, I found this book in our library and WOW, the assignment was easy! This book really made good practical sense and turned my essay from boring science to cool information. I now find myself wanting to read all the sports magazines to find out more about how world class athletes train and what they eat. Sounds to me like some of them need to buy a copy of this book to read!

Peak Performance is a fantastic resource and a great read. It demystifies scientific concepts and provides plenty of practical tips. The quotes make the book truely enjoyable to read. Anyone with a question about sports science and sports nutrition will find the answer in this book.

Finally a book that actually uses the peer reviewed literature. It was a pleasure to read this book knowing that you were getting factual and scientifically valid information. If you want to know what works in training and nutrition this is the book. Now I dont have to buy all those supplements - and have I saved a heap of $'s.

There are so many good points about this book I hardly know where to start. What impresses me most is that the authors have maintained a balanced and rational view on the many diverse and sometimes conflicting inputs - lab. tests, experience in the sport, folklore, practicalities - all of these impinge on the attitudes of athlete and coach, and can result in a lot of confusion and uncertainty. The book does an excellent job in unravelling these tangled strands of knowledge and half-knowledge to present the a clear and accurate picture to the reader. Uncertain points are made clearer, several myths are debunked (some of my own misconceptions were cleared up). Yet where the truth remains hidden or is unclear this is commented upon. Concerning scientific studies the source material is extensive and up to date.

The layout and language are so clear and reader-friendly, and the material so interesting that I found it hard to put the book down. However, I'd have to advise readers not to try to take in too much at a time.

The few inaccuracies in some of the details didn't detract from the message or the overall quality. There is one slightly surprising omission, namely the absence of any discussion of the Conconi test for aerobic performance. Nevertheless, the sections on training are excellent; the ones on nutrition are even better.