It might be that you’re finding you have more free time on your hands or that the ever changing COVID situation is making you busier than ever. But at a time where things are unstable and unknown, it’s important now more than ever to be doing little things to focus on our wellbeing. Studies have found (The Reading Agency) that reading for pleasure increases general wellbeing and empathy and reduces depression - sounds pretty good to us at the minute.
So we’re listing our top 5 fitness related books below. it was tough to narrow them down to 5 (we have a habit of stockpiling all the books we can find about running, Crossfit and nutrition) and they’re in no particular order as we think they’re all great reads! So get stuck in and let us know what you think if you’ve read them already!
#1 Racing Weight - Matt Fitzgerald
This is one that I have reviewed before so if you want a bit more information on why I found it so interesting you can head to HERE to check it out.
What’s It About?
Split in to three main sections, the book first looks at the natural racing weight of different endurance athletes, which I found really interesting. It then looks at diet and nutrition and breaks down the 3 main food groups (proteins, carbs and fats - he doesn’t count pizza as a food group sadly). He also looks at the importance of balancing your split of macronutrients, the importance of meal timing and how to keep on top of monitoring things. The final section is all about fine tuning and I personally felt the best info came from the first 2 sections. This section does include lots of examples of famous athletes and what they eat in a day though, which was interesting to look at.
#2 Learning To Breathe Fire - J.C. Herz
This is a firm favourite of both Jessie and Sean and one that you could easily read a number of times.
What’s It About?
This book looks at the rise of Crossfit; it’s an easy read and we found that we couldn’t put it down! There are lots of anecdotal stories of different people’s own personal journeys in CrossFit, as well as a focus on some of the top athletes and where they came from. The most interesting part though is the journey of ‘CrossFit’ as a sporting subculture and how it has risen from nothing to being something that everyone in the world of fitness and beyond knows about. It was fascinating to see the journey and we found it hard not to head straight to the nearest box to sign up when we were done!
#3 Born To Run - Christopher McDougall
We’re sure that a lot of you will have already read this one, but it was too good to miss off!
What’s It About?
A personal tale of running that takes McDougall to Mexico and beyond in search of the Tarahumara tribe to see if they have got all the hidden answers to running and why we get injured so much in western society. This is another easy read with some interesting facts and humorous stories along the way.
#4 Training For The Uphill Athlete - House, Johnston, Jornet.
Not one for travelling, unless you’re planning on doing some weight training, as it’s a hefty read, but packed full of information nonethless!
What’s It About?
Any book with Kilian Jornet’s name attached to it is probably going to be worth reading if you’re a runner and this one is no different. It is a real education based book and if you’re like me then you’ll want a highlighter and a notepad while you tackle this one. The book covers a whole range of topics linked to endurance running, from fat adaptation to anaerobic and aerobic pathways and everything in between and gives really simple to understand data and science to back up their points. It then goes on to give help on how to monitor your training and even has a comprehensive section on strength and improvement for runners, including ways to self assess and how exercises to improve. If you’re looking to educate yourself about the physiology of running and want to get better as a runner without having to do a lengthy course, this is probably your best bet!
#5 How Bad Do You Want It?
Another great read from Matt Fitzgerald - this one is a great read if you’re interested on working on your mindset or you’ve been wondering how some people are more #gritty than others.
What’s It About?
This book is one that we couldn’t put down. It is a collection of short stories about how a series of athletes have pushed past what they thought was their limit to go on to achieve greatness. It gives insight and reflections into the importance of mindset for performance and is one we’d really recommend.
Drop a comment below and let us know which 5 books would make your top 5 for fitness and nutrition? We’d love some recommendations!