Recommended Books
These books are in order of which I read them (top = most recent) and are all vastly different but display these author’s expertise in their respective area of health and fitness.
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Greg Nuckols is a record-breaking powerlifter and strength coach who has an incredible amount of resources for you to learn from on his site, StrongerByScience.com. He is known for his intensive dives into the Exercise Science research in order to help you figure out what works best for most people in order to build strength and/or muscle. These books provide great general knowledge to know if you are using a good weightlifting program and tips from his science knowledge and 10+ years of practical experience.
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Kelly Starrett is a movement expert who coaches a wide variety of athletes and is known for popularizing the use of lacrosse balls, bands, and the like for doing your own physical therapy. Deskbound is a great read for anyone like me, who works a desk job but understands that sitting down all day and staring at a computer screen is only damaging your health. This book provides the practical tools and motivation to start moving more and get yourself a standing desk.
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Cate Shanahan is a physician and well-known nutrition expert. She has worked all over the United States including the former lead of a nutrition program for the Los Angeles Lakers. She now works in Florida as a consultant to help improve the health of the large company she works with. Some of the many things Deep Nutrition teaches are why processed food is so bad and all the negative things that vegetable oils are doing to our health. This book is extensive but if you want to nerd out on nutrition, it is well worth the read.
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Matthews is not only a fitness coach but also the founder of an eight figure supplement company, Legion Athletics. This book goes far beyond workout motivation and really gives great advice on how to set, focus on, and then crush your goals. This book is a super easy read with useful exercises at the end of each chapter. It is filled with useful tips, resources, and bits of motivation throughout.
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Mike Matthews is a fitness coach to thousands of people through his books Bigger Leaner Stronger for men and Thinner Leaner Stronger for women. They are fantastic resources that lay out what you have to do in order to achieve your ideal body type: how many calories to consume, ideal macronutrients, how to properly squat, deadlift, and bench press, and the volume of heavy lifting you need in order to gain the most muscle possible (naturally). He also backs everything up with over 500 sources (mainly scientific research from sites like PubMed).
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I highly recommend these books for anyone who is seriously interested in finding a simple and effective weightlifting program. Only if you know you’re ready to put in the work.
https://www.amazon.com/Bigger-Leaner-Stronger-Building-Ultimate/dp/1938895304/ref=sr_1_3?crid=14W0SGOLBN5IC&keywords=bigger+leaner+stronger+by+mike+matthews&qid=1566694881&s=books&sprefix=Bigger+leaner%2Cstripbooks%2C163&sr=1-3
https://www.amazon.com/Thinner-Leaner-Stronger-Building-Ultimate/dp/1938895312/ref=sr_1_3?crid=64G79RN82WCT&keywords=thinner+leaner+stronger+for+women&qid=1566694416&s=books&sprefix=Thinner%2Cstripbooks%2C208&sr=1-3
https://www.amazon.com/Bigger-Leaner-Stronger-Building-Ultimate/dp/1938895304/ref=sr_1_3?crid=14W0SGOLBN5IC&keywords=bigger+leaner+stronger+by+mike+matthews&qid=1566694881&s=books&sprefix=Bigger+leaner%2Cstripbooks%2C163&sr=1-3
https://www.amazon.com/Thinner-Leaner-Stronger-Building-Ultimate/dp/1938895312/ref=sr_1_3?crid=64G79RN82WCT&keywords=thinner+leaner+stronger+for+women&qid=1566694416&s=books&sprefix=Thinner%2Cstripbooks%2C208&sr=1-3
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Ben Greenfield is a health and fitness coach and physical trainer as well as a well-known triathlete. He is more than qualified to give a fantastic foundation for exercise, nutrition, and recovery. This book has helped me tremendously to get a thorough understanding in HIIT training, cold thermogenesis, benefits for having essential vitamins and supplements, etc. This book has also guided me greatly with my nutrition and fitness plans.
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Dr. Steven Guidry is a former world-renown heart surgeon who performed over 10,000 surgeries and gave it all up once he figured out he could help prevent diseases before people ended up in surgery. This book gives great information of what diet you should be on if you want to prevent just about all diseases. I know that sounds too good to be true but he has thousands of testimonials and is a researcher above all things so he really knows what he’s talking about. He also has another great book, which was a huge New York Times bestseller, The Plant Paradox which is based on a very similar diet. Both have fantastic recipes and are guides on how to live a long, healthy life no matter how old you are currently.
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Shawn Stevenson is a health and fitness coach and in this book he shows how sleep is just as important as diet and exercise. He gives an insane amount of research and science of how our hormone functions (mainly cortisol and melatonin) play such a large role in our health and fitness. He also gives great tips/hacks on getting better sleep and a ton of other great information.
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Jocko Willink is a former Navy SEAL commander who, in this book, gives his two cents on how to live a disciplined life when it comes to what you eat, how you exercise, and your lifestyle in general. To give some insight on his lifestyle, he wakes up at 430 every morning, trains jiu-jitsu (and is one of the earliest practicers of the jiu-jitsu style fighting we know today), and trains hard with weights, rings, etc. each day, all while running multiple business, writing books, and taking care of his family.
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