Perfect for beginning and advanced fitness practitioners alike, this is an in-depth look into the most magnificent machine ever created--the human body. Using detailed anatomical illustrations, The New Anatomy for Strength and Fitness Training provides you visual insight into what happens to this organic machine during exercise--muscles and tendons working in concert to strengthen your body's building blocks. With a basic knowledge of how the body works, you can buff up your body with the book's 90 exercises, grouped by body region and involving gym machines, free weights, and body weight/stretching, as well as yoga and Pilates. Each exercise is vividly illustrated by a full-color anatomical illustration of the targeted muscles, together with instructions on execution and technique.

Deepen your practice and discover the myths, gods, sacred animals and imagery that lie hidden in your favourite yoga postures Meet the monks and maharajas, gods and gymnasts who shaped yoga as we know it. Have you ever wondered why yoga postures look the way they do, or how they got their names? From Lotus to Warrior, Cobra to Happy Baby, this book takes a fresh look at the stories behind 30 familiar poses. By drawing in on Hindu scripture, mythology and the animals, birds and flowers the original Indian yogis saw around them, Curious Poses explores the symbolism of yoga postures many of us practise every week and offers inspiration to regular practitioners and yoga teachers alike. Let this book take you on a journey into a treasure trove of yoga history, mythology, philosophy and pop culture that enlightens and entertains by turns. Featuring full-colour illustrations, Curious Poses is an ideal mat companion for the curious yoga enthusiast.

Evolutionary Lifestyle Fitness Strategies for All #1 New Release in Physical Education and Stretching Exercise & Fitness Adaptive Training explores an alternate perspective on health and fitness focusing on how we are a product of the environment. So change your surroundings to maximize your health and fitness beyond the gym. Explore your amazingly adaptable body. Tight hip flexors, rounded shoulders and a hunched back are all products of our daily lifestyles. We are adaptoids; our bodies are designed to adapt to our surroundings, and understanding this is the key to unlocking perfect performance. Adaptive Training takes you through the fundamentals of understanding adaptive training while providing a detailed physical fitness program to help you build an environment that facilitates a healthy and empowering new lifestyle fitness journey with new lifestyle fitness equipment. Unlock your true potential. The best way to learn a language is through immersion, and the same is true for developing and maintaining a new lifestyle fitness. A few hours a week training at the gym or elsewhere is great, but what if your environment outside of the gym is also challenging your body? You will see results that are only possible through the innovative fitness method called "Adam" which stands for Adaptive Immersion Training. Change your environment with intent, and your body will adapt with amazing results. Inside, you'll learn: How the environment shapes your body to be adaptive How and why you should divide training throughout the day The missing fundamentals of human movement and lifestyle fitness equipment If you liked Built from Broken, The Comfort Crisis, or What Doesn't Kill You, you'll love Adaptive Training.

Brimming with engaging exercise tips and colorful illustrations, this fun-to-read guide makes it easy to do pilates in your pajamas. Improve your strength, tone your body, and increase your flexibility with these 40 easy-to-follow exercises that you can do at home. Written by certified Pilates instructor Maria Mankin, the exercises include step-by-step instructions, notes on their physical benefits, and modification options. Readers will discover how to improve posture and core strength using a kitchen counter, stretch out their legs using the dining table, and tone their arms using the edge of the bathtub, plus so much more. Each exercise is paired with a colorful illustration of a pajama-clad person demonstrating the pose. Simple to follow and with no special equipment required (beyond pj's!), this accessible take on a popular exercise technique makes it easy to get fit without leaving the house. EXERCISE MADE EASY: Packed with achievable exercises, this interactive guide to at-home Pilates is perfect for people looking for easy, accessible ways to stretch and strengthen at home. No special equipment required! ALL-LEVELS AUDIENCE: With a range of practices and modification options, this book will appeal to a wide audience-from Pilates newbies looking for ways to get fit at home to experienced practitioners in need of exercise inspiration. The low-impact, high-reward practices can be done one at a time, or in a sequence for a more challenging routine. GREAT SELF-CARE GIFT: Brimming with healthy practices and colorful artwork, this package makes a great self-care gift for moms, workout enthusiasts, and Pilates lovers, and pairs perfectly with other self-care accessories or a set of pajamas. Perfect for: * Pilates enthusiasts * Mother's Day gift shoppers * Anyone looking for easy ways to stay fit * Anyone looking for at-home exercises * Anyone who works from home

The Game Centred Approach (GCA) is the ideal framework for coaches and teachers to develop comprehensive tactical or technical lessons for any game, both in physical education and in extracurricular sport contexts. Learning about the pedagogical models included in this approach has never been easier thanks to this short introductory guide. The book helps the reader acquire the skills needed to design effective session plans, regardless of the sport that is being taught or coached. It introduces the core concepts underpinning the GCA model, complemented by practical examples of tasks and strategies for each game category and assessment instrument. This is essential reading for all educators, coaches or sports professionals who wish to improve their teaching or coaching to enhance their students and players' physical literacy and sport competence. It is also invaluable reading for any student or researcher working in physical education, sport coaching or sport pedagogy.

Pilates benefits every body - including yours! Are you looking for the ideal home workout that anyone can do? Try Pilates and discover how to strengthen your core, become more flexible, improve your posture and even relieve back pain! This Pilates for beginners book is for everyone, regardless of age, race, size, gender, or physical ability. Discover how you can take advantage of all Pilates has to offer. This exercise book includes: - A complete workout plan allowing you to find your comfort zone and test your abilities without judgement - all from the comfort of your own home - 50 Pilates exercises with at least three variations/modifications for different body types - 15 sequences that combine the exercises - Expert advice and tips on Pilates and how to add the exercises to your life Pilates instructor and wellness coach, Micki Havard, will show you a wide range of Pilates exercises to discover this practice's physical and mental benefits. Step-by-step photography and a diverse group of models demonstrate each exercise with its possible variations, so you can find the best way that suits you, and your physical abilities. Once you've found the movements that suit you, you'll begin to notice the positive changes in your body as you become stronger and more confident. Other physical activities will become more manageable, and you will have renewed confidence in your everyday capabilities! If you enjoyed Pilates for Everyone, be sure to check out the other title in this series - Yoga for Everyone. So forget what you've heard. Exercise isn't just for the privileged few. It's meant to be enjoyed by everybody. Yes, you can do it - and this series will show you how!

Tai-chi Ch'uan is an ancient Chinese art based on the principles of physiology, psychology, and dynamics for the purpose of increasing and sustaining health. By practicing Tai-chi Chu'an, you can strengthen muscles, promote and regulate good blood circulation, refresh your whole body-and stimulate your spirit as well. Proper practice of the simple exercises clearly shown in this book can improve your digestion, adjust your weight up or down, clear your mind, allow you to think more clearly, and help you in dozens of ways you will find almost miraculous.

The positive benefits of physical activity for physical and mental health are now widely acknowledged, yet levels of physical inactivity continue to be a major concern throughout the world. Understanding the psychology of physical activity has therefore become an important issue for scientists, health professionals and policy-makers alike as they address the challenge of behaviour change. Psychology of Physical Activity provides comprehensive and in-depth coverage of the fundamentals of exercise psychology, from mental health, to theories of motivation and adherence, and to the design of successful interventions for increasing participation. Now publishing in a fully revised, updated and expanded fourth edition, Psychology of Physical Activity is still the only textbook to offer a full survey of the evidence base for theory and practice in exercise psychology, and the only textbook that explains how to interpret the quality of the research evidence. As the field continues to grow rapidly, the new edition expands the behavioural science content of numerous important topics, including physical activity and cognitive functioning, automatic and affective frameworks for understanding physical activity involvement, new interventions designed to increase physical activity (including use of new technologies), and sedentary behaviour. A full companion website offers useful features to help students and lecturers get the most out of the book during their course, including multiple-choice revision questions, PowerPoint slides and a test bank of additional learning activities. Psychology of Physical Activity is the most authoritative, engaging and up-to-date book on exercise psychology currently available. It is essential reading for all students working in behavioural medicine, as well as the exercise and health sciences.

There is something terribly wrong with the state of exercise as we know it presently. Sales of treadmills, running shoes, gym memberships, and yoga classes are at an all-time high, but so too are our national levels of obesity and Type II diabetes. Ever since the 1960s the exercising public has been told to stretch for flexibility and to perform low-intensity steady-state aerobic exercise for their cardiovascular systems and some form of resistance training to keep their muscles strong. With regard to diet, they have been told to restrict or omit macronutrients such as fats and carbohydrates and given lots of other advice with regard to calorie-counting. Could it be that this information, however well intended, was mistaken? And is it really necessary to devote so much time to the pursuit?

Fitness researcher and pioneer John Little has spent more than twelve years researching the actual science underpinning our most prevalent beliefs about exercise and has come away from the enterprise convinced that we need an entirely new paradigm, one that would involve reliance on briefer workouts. He presents this revolutionary new approach in The Time-Saver's Workout.

Among the fascinating revelations presented in this book:

• Certain types of exercise can actually make you less healthy and fatter.
• Taking large doses of food supplements might actually shorten your life and put you at greater risk for disease.
• Stretching to become more flexible or to recover quicker from injury has been found to do neither of these things.
• Resistance training, once considered to be the weak sister of exercise, is now looking like the best form of exercise one should engage in.

The new protocols that Little exposes offer a far safer alternative for those looking to become stronger, fitter, and healthier without spending their lives in the gym.

“My experience working with Skyhorse is always a positive collaboration. The editors are first-rate professionals, and my books receive top-shelf treatment. I truly appreciate our working relationship and hope it continues for years to come.”
–David Fischer, author

The first book to comprehensively discuss the function of the psoas in posture, movement, and exercise, The Psoas Solution identifies the functional anatomy, biomechanics, and motor control of the psoas and its role in core and hip stabilization. Abundantly illustrated with full-colour images throughout, this book also provides most complete review on the relevant research on the psoas available. Integrating this research with clinical experience, Evan Osar identifies the psoas's role on the hip, pelvis, and low back and demonstrates how to incorporate the psoas into functional movement patterns including squatting, lunging, and bending. The Psoas Solution includes corrective and functional exercise progressions for integrating the psoas into daily activities such as standing and sitting. Health and fitness professionals will find this a valuable resource full of applicable strategies and exercises to incorporate into their current rehabilitation and training programs.

Many questions come to mind concerning running and runners and public health.

Here are a few.

1. Why do runners live an estimated 2 to 2.5 years longer than non-runners?

2. Why are runners rarely overweight?

3. Among runners do they have the same incidence of the following problems compared to non-runners that so far the causes of which are basically unknown? Muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, amelanotic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease?

4. Why do women runners have so much less breast cancer than non-runners?

5. Why do runners have so much stronger bones than non-runners?

6. Why do runners have less atherosclerosis and therefore fewer strokes and coronary and cardiac artery disease?

7. Why do runners have more HDL (good ) cholesterol than non-runners?

8. Why do runners have lower blood pressure than non-runners?

9. Do running women have fewer children who develop Autism than non-running women?

10. Why do runners have better immune systems than non-runners?

11. Does running enhance the production of endomorphnis, serotonin, androgens, estrogens such as oxytocin, ghrlein, and the enzyme troponin and many others?

12. Is there an advantage of the profound sleep that comes to those who exercise as with running and with no insomnia?

Pilates is an exercise system that focuses on stretching and strengthening the whole body to improve balance, muscle-strength, flexibility and posture. It was created in the early 1900s and incorporates elements of yoga, martial arts and Western forms of exercise. Initially adopted by professional dancers in the US as an effective form of recovery after injury, pilates has steadily grown in popularity around the world, and includes celebrity fans such as Madonna and Jennifer Aniston. This accessible new book focuses on a series of exercises, body motions and self-disciplines that offer the benefits of pilates to everyone. Featuring specially commissioned practical photography, step-by-step instruction, and an introduction to the entire scope of the system of pilates.

Yoga is many things to many people. However, the basics of yoga are worth understanding given its popularity and the benefits of the practice. This includes understanding yoga's roots, its origins, its development within and outside India as well as the research involving yoga as an integrative therapeutic modality. The author introduces the topic of yoga to healthcare officials, practitioners, skeptics, and a range of curious people in between. For yoga practitioners and those interested in the practice, The Politics and Promise of Yoga: Contemporary Relevance of an Ancient Practice outlines a condensed view of traditional yoga practices and provides a glimpse into the origin of yoga within Indian history and philosophy. The author hopes that policymakers will be interested in this evidence-based scientific practice so that it can be systematically incorporated into mainstream biomedical systems around the globe. This book also serves to confirm existing knowledge and historical nuances about yoga and also addresses contemporary debates and politics which revolve around the practice.

Thousands have found renewed health and increased sensory awareness through the Feldenkrais method as explained in Awareness Through Movement. Here is a way for people of every age to integrate physical and mental development into a new, invigorating wholeness. Feldenkrais provides a modern-day, practical program for the perennial ideal of a healthy mind in a healthy body. His down-to-earth method carefully avoids any mystical component and never obliges any pupil to master abstruse theories. Exercises for posture, eyes, imagination, and more will simultaneously build better body habits and focus new dimensions of awareness, self-image, and human potential.

As both a "next step" and a "jumpstart" to Dr. Jeffry Life's "New York Times "bestselling health plan for men, this is an easy-to-follow primer from an author whose message is "life-changing" (Suzanne Somers).
In his "New York Times" bestseller, "The Life Plan," Jeffry Life combined proven science with an appealing message--it's never too late to transform your body. Today, at seventy-five years of age, with an unbelievably toned torso and biceps that even a twenty-something would envy, he's living proof that his program of exercise, nutrition, and hormone optimization has extraordinarily powerful and lasting results.
In "Mastering the Life Plan," Dr. Life distills this bestselling program into a simpler format that men of any age can customize for their individual needs. Offering new exercises in all fitness domains, meal plans and recipes that make weight loss a breeze, the latest information on hormone optimization, new success stories, and much, much more, this book is the key to achieving a happy, youthful, sexually satisfying life. And for those who already follow his regimen, Dr. Life offers groundbreaking new advice for the "next step."
"Mastering the Life Plan" is essential for every man looking to take charge of his health now and for the future. Says entrepreneur and life coach Anthony Robbins, "Dr. Life lives and breathes a paradigm of health, vitality, and fitness--men everywhere would be smart to follow his example."