My 12 Favorite
Fitness Books
I probably don’t have to tell you that reading great health and fitness books is one of the most effective
ways to build a body you can be proud of.
Although my books give you a practical, panoramic understanding of the grammar of fitness, there are
many other books worth reading if you want to deepen your understanding of how to lose fat, build
muscle, get stronger, get or stay healthy, live longer, or perform better inside and outside the gym.
Here are some of my favorite books that fit the bill.
Starting Strength
by Mark Rippetoe
Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe is the most comprehensive guide
to barbell weightlifting you’ll ever read, explaining everything you
need to know to squat, bench press, overhead press, and deadlift
safely and effectively.
Each chapter focuses on a particular exercise, breaking down the
main challenges and characteristics of each movement, showing
multiple pictures of proper and improper form, and explaining what
“cues” work best to dial in correct technique.
The reason Starting Strength has gained cult status is it’s simple, effective, and suited to many different
goals. If you want to get strong, build muscle, become more resistant to injury, improve athleticism, or
age more gracefully, Starting Strength can help.
A Guide to Flexible Dieting
by Lyle McDonald
Lyle McDonald was one of the first people to beat the drum for a
style of eating known as flexible dieting. In fact, he coined the term
back in 2005 when he published A Guide to Flexible Dieting.
The book is based on a simple, counterintuitive, and profound idea:
People who take a black-and-white, all-or-nothing, no-pain-no-gain
approach to dieting usually fail; and people who take a more relaxed,
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patient, and compromising approach usually succeed not only in losing weight but in keeping it off. The
tortoise beats the hare, basically.
The key, of course, is being flexible enough to enjoy and stick to your diet while still consistently losing
weight and not regaining it, and that’s what this book teaches you how to do.
Bigger Leaner Stronger
by Michael Matthews
Cheeky, I know, but Bigger Leaner Stronger is the ideal fitness book
for men who want to gain muscle, lose fat, and get healthy.
Unlike other “weight loss” books, it doesn’t insist you follow a
particular diet or training approach. Instead, it teaches you the
grammar of fat loss and muscle gain, which helps you build an
amazing body regardless of what diet or exercise program you
follow.
It also gives you clear, specific instructions on how to do everything in the book, from creating a meal
plan to warming up for workouts to putting together a supplementation plan that works for you. No
stone is left unturned
Thinner Leaner Stronger
by Michael Matthews
Thinner Leaner Stronger is like Bigger Leaner Stronger but for
women, which means it includes diet and training advice that’s
more attuned to the female physiology, preferences and goals, and
challenges.
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Peak Performance
by Steve Magness and Brad Stulberg
If you like to chase big goals in your personal and professional lives,
but sometimes feel frazzled, rushed, or frustrated as a result, this
book is for you.
It’s a penetrating and practical overview of the science of maximizing
your mental and physical performance over the long-haul.
Although you’ll find much of the information in Peak Performance
in other self-development books, the authors’ background in
competitive sports (Magness) and corporate America (Stulberg) give
their teachings a unique flavor. Both ultimately overreached and undermined their aspirations, and their
book is full of insights on how to avoid the same fate.
Muscle for Life
by Michael Matthews
There are millions of men and women in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and
beyond who are overweight, out of shape, and deeply unhappy with
how they look and feel, and who don’t know what to do about it. ⁣
Muscle for Life is a fitness book that’s tailor-made for these people—
an a-to-izzard guide to gaining muscle and strength, losing fat, and
getting healthy, at any age, regardless of where they’ve been and
where they are.
If you want a science-based, doctor-approved formula for eating, exercising, and recovering that makes
losing fat and adding lean muscle a breeze regardless of age or circumstance, then Muscle for Life is
the book for you.
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The Triathlete’s Training Bible
by Joe Friel
If you’re interested in endurance sports, the thorniest problem you’ll
have to solve is this:
How do you keep getting faster without training full-time or getting
injured?
In other words, how do you make your workouts as productive as
possible, while also fulfilling your obligations at home and at work
and staying healthy?
This is particularly true for triathletes, who have to train for three very different sports simultaneously.
Fortunately, The Triathlete’s Training Bible offers a solution that’s both simple and practical.
Friel explains the physiology of endurance sports, the fundamentals of proper training and
periodization, and offers sage advice on what kind of mindset you need to excel at triathlons. What
makes this book unique is that all of the systems, tools, and tips are highly relevant for any sport you
may want to pursue, including weightlifting.
5/3/1
by Jim Wendler
5/3/1 (often called “Wendler 5/3/1”) is a book and strength training
program that helps you get as strong as possible, as fast as possible,
as safely as possible.
It came to be after author and esteemed powerlifter, Jim Wendler,
became tired of being overweight, feeling overtrained, and following
programs that he felt were more complex, demanding, and timeconsuming than necessary.
He took what he’d learned after following different programs for over a decade and distilled the best
parts into “5/3/1.”
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The result is an easy-to-follow book and strength program that’s a valuable read for beginners who are
hell-bent on getting as strong as possible, or intermediate lifters who want to dip their toe in the waters
of more advanced programming.
The Little Black Book Of Workout Motivation
by Michael Matthews
The Little Black Book Of Workout Motivation is a book that helps
you overcome the mental blocks that are keeping you unmotivated,
unhappy, and unhealthy.
It’s packed with wisdom and insights from hundreds of scientific
studies and scores of legendary artists, authors, entrepreneurs,
philosophers, generals, and conquerors that’ll help you fix the
biggest things that are holding you back from doing and achieving
the things you care most about.
What’s more, it includes a 100% practical and hands-on blueprint for personal transformation, inside
and outside of the gym. Whatever your reason for wanting to upgrade your mindset, skillset, and
lifestyle, The Little Black Book Of Workout Motivation has words of advice that will help.
Strength Training Anatomy
by Frédéric Delavier
Many books explain how to use different exercises to train different
muscle groups, but none are as thorough as Strength Training
Anatomy by Frédéric Delavier.
Each exercise description is brought to life by fine-grained anatomy
drawings that show which muscles each exercise works and how
different positions affect muscle recruitment and surrounding
structures such as bones, ligaments, tendons, and connective
tissues.
Delavier studied human anatomy for years (and even conducted autopsies on humans), and his
understanding of the human body and creative craft make this book a utilitarian work of art. If you want
a better understanding of how your muscles work during all of the most common strength training
exercises, Strength Training Anatomy is the book for you.
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Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger
by Michael Matthews
When you first start lifting weights, progress is easy—especially if
you’re eating halfway intelligently and following a well-designed
workout routine.
After your first year or two, however, the game changes, and you
need to adjust your diet and training regimen to continue making
progress.
And that’s where Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger comes in.
Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger picks up where Bigger Leaner Stronger leaves off, explaining the
science of building muscle and losing fat as an intermediate or advanced weightlifter.
If you want to continue shattering muscle and strength plateaus, setting new personal records, and
building your best body ever long after your “newbie gains” are over, then Beyond Bigger Leaner
Stronger is essential reading.
All About Powerlifting
by Tim Henriques
Powerlifting involves lifting as much weight as possible for a single
repetition on the squat, bench press, and deadlift (in that order). And
although competitive powerlifting isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (nor is
it mine), you can learn much about gaining muscle and strength by
studying the sport.
In All About Powerlifting, weightlifting coach and competitive
powerlifter Tim Henriques examines the sport of powerlifting from
all angles. You’ll learn about the history of powerlifting, specific
technique tips for boosting your squat, bench press, and deadlift, what gear to use and how to use it
properly, programming powerlifting workouts, preparing for your first meet, and more.
If you’re interested in getting as strong as possible, then you’ll enjoy reading this book.
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