Other Team Sports Books

Runner's World Run Less, Run Faster: Become a Faster, Stronger Runner with the Revolutionary FIRST Training Program (Runners World)

Bill Pierce, Scott Murr, Ray Moss

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Rodale Books Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $8.60

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Running & Jogging
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Subjects -> Sports -> Other Team Sports -> Track & Field

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Finally, runners at all levels can improve their race times while training less, with the revolutionary Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST) program.

Hailed by the Wall Street Journal and featured twice in six months in cover stories in Runner’s World magazine, FIRST’s unique training philosophy makes running easier and more accessible, limits overtraining and burnout, and substantially cuts the risk of injury, while producing faster race times.

The key feature is the "3 plus 2" program, which each week consists of:

-3 quality runs, including track repeats, the tempo run, and the long run, which are designed to work together to improve endurance, lactate-threshold running pace, and leg speed

-2 aerobic cross-training workouts, such as swimming, rowing, or pedaling a stationary bike, which are designed to improve endurance while helping to avoid burnout

With detailed training plans for 5K, 10K, half marathon, and marathon, plus tips for goal-setting, rest, recovery, injury rehab and prevention, strength training, and nutrition, this program will change the way runners think about and train for competitive races.

Amby Burfoot, Runner’s World executive editor and Boston Marathon winner, calls the FIRST training program "the most detailed, well-organized, and scientific training program for runners that I have ever seen."

The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer

David A. Whitsett, Forrest A. Dolgener, Tanjala Jo Kole

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: McGraw-Hill Amazon Marketplace: 70 new & used starting at $5.70

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Marathons
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Running & Jogging
Subjects -> Sports -> Individual Sports -> Running & Jogging

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 168 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Athlete. Runner. Marathoner. Are these words you wouldn't exactly use to describe yourself? Do you consider yourself too old or too out of shape to run a marathon? But somewhere deep inside have you always admired the people who could reach down and come up with the mental and physical strength to complete such a daunting and rewarding accomplishment? It doesn't have to be somebody else crossing the finish line. You can be a marathoner. The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer is based on the highly successful marathon class offered by the University of Northern Iowa, which was featured in a Runner's World article titled "Marathoning 101." The class has been offered five times over 10 years, and all but one student finished the marathon. That is approximately 200 students -- all first time marathoners and many with absolutely no running background. This book follows the same 16-week, four-day-a-week workout plan. What makes the success rate of this program so much higher than any other? The special emphasis on the psychological aspects of endurance activities. You don't have to love to run -- you don't even have to like it -- but you have to realize that you are capable of more than you have ever thought possible. One participant in the program explained it like this: "I'm doing this for me -- not for others or the time clock. I just feel better when I run, plus it helps me to cope with things in general. The skills we've learned in this class don't apply just to marathoning -- they apply to life! Just like you never know what the next step in a marathon will bring, so too, you never know what will happen next in life. But if you don't keep going, you're never going to find out. By staying relaxed, centered, and positive you handle just about anything that comes your way." This is marathon running for real people, people with jobs and families and obligations outside of running. The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer has proven successful for men and women of all ages. Now let it work for you.

A Race Like No Other: 26.2 Miles Through the Streets of New York

Liz Robbins

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harper Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $10.75

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

When 39,195 competitors thunder over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to begin the thirty-eighth running of the famed New York City Marathon, they experience one of the most exhilarating moments in sports. But as they cross five towering bridges and five distinct boroughs, carried 26.2 miles by the cheers of two million fans and by their own indomitable wills, grueling challenges await them.

New York Times sportswriter Liz Robbins brings race day to life in this gripping saga of the 2007 Marathon, weaving the unforgettable stories of runners into a vibrant mile-by-mile portrait of the world's largest marathon.

The professionals pound out the suspense in two thrilling races. Paula Radcliffe, the women's world record holder from Great Britain, returns with new resolve after having given birth nine months earlier; Gete Wami, her longtime rival from Ethiopia, tries to win her second marathon in just five weeks; and Latvia's Jelena Prokopcuka desperately hopes for her third straight New York title.

If the women's race plays out like a mesmerizing chess game, then the men's race quickly turns into a high-speed car chase. South Africa's Hendrick Ramaala, eager to recapture glory at age 35, surges to lead the pack as Kenya's Martin Lel and Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri stay within striking range.

While the professionals offer insight into the intense, often painful experience of being an elite athlete, the amateurs provide timeless stories of courage and obsession that typify today's marathoner: Harrie Bakst, a cancer survivor at 22, who is a first-timer; Pam Rickard, a 45-year-old mother of three from Virginia, who is a recovering alcoholic; and 65-year-old Tucker Andersen, who has run the race every year since 1976.

Enlivening the history of the New York City Marathon with stories of such legends as the late Fred Lebow, the race's charismatic founder, and nine-time champion Grete Waitz, A Race Like No Other provides a curbside seat to the drama of the first Sunday in November. Feel the anxiety at the start in Staten Island. Listen to gospel choirs in Brooklyn and the accordion in Queens. Bask in the delirious sound tunnel of Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hit The Wall in the Bronx. And overcome agony in the last hilly miles before arriving in Central Park—exhausted yet exhilarated—at the finish line.

The Triathlete's Training Bible (2nd Edition)

Joe Friel

Amazon Price: $15.61 List Price: $22.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: VeloPress Amazon Marketplace: 59 new & used starting at $9.55

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Triathlons
Subjects -> Reference -> General AAS
Subjects -> Sports -> Individual Sports -> Triathlon

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 80 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Read his original sources instead 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is the Wal-Mart of Triathlon training guides. There is a representative in every department of training, but it does not contain enough of the depth of knowledge and detail that you would like from a "Bible" to be truly satisfying. Throughout the book you will find diluted versions of other works and training books/products (Pose Method, Total Immersion, Paleo Diet, etc). I've found that reading the original sources is much more satisfying for that craving of knowledge. If you are really looking to gain in depth knowledge about the skills, training, and diet necessary for triathlon I would recommend reading the following books as either a supplement or replacement for this book:

1. Dr. Nichloas Romanov's Pose Method of Running (and DVD)
2. Daniel's Running Formula
3. Triathlon Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Anyone
to Master Open-Water Swimming
4. Easy Freestyle DVD (also by Total Immersion)
5. Bicycling Magazine's Complete Book of Road Cycling Skills
6. The Paleo Diet

Editorial Review:

This new edition of The Triathlete's Training Bible covers all of the specialized training needs of triathletes, including completely updated nutrition, recovery, and weight training information. The book also contains seasoned advice on the mental aspects of training. Author Joe Friel shows how to achieve greater fitness by examining personal strengths and weaknesses, and devotes individual chapters to planning, racing, rest, and recovery. Appendices include annual training plan worksheets and suggested swim, bike, run, and combined workouts.

50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days -- and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance!

Dean Karnazes

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wellness Central Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $13.83

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the Fall of 2006, Dean Karnazes, known as the "Lance Armstrong of the running world," took on the ultimate challenge: running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days. Dean set off in a caravan packed with fellow runners, with nothing more than a roadmap and a determination that defied all physical limitations.

50/50 goes beyond the incredible story of these 50 marathons. It is a firsthand account of what happens when your body defies all limitations, and it is a fascinating story of what it's like to push the limits of strength under grueling conditions.

This book is also packed with Dean's secrets and training tips that runners everywhere will want to know. These include what to do when you hit a wall, how to adapt quickly to drastic terrain, how to get motivated after a really tough day, and the best diet and exercise tips to improve your own best time. Complete with Dean's practical tips on building endurance, this book will appeal to marathon runners and athletes everywhere.


"(He) makes the extraordinary look easy." --GQ


"The indefatigable man." --Esquire


"One of the sexiest men in sports." --Sports Illustrated Women

Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation

John Carlin

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Penguin Press HC, The Amazon Marketplace: 51 new & used starting at $11.94

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Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> People, A-Z -> ( M ) -> Mandela, Nelson
Subjects -> History -> Africa -> South Africa
Subjects -> History -> World -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A thrilling, inspiring account of one of the greatest charm offensives in history—Nelson Mandela’s decade-long campaign to unite his country, beginning in his jail cell and ending with a rugby tournament

In 1985, Nelson Mandela, then in prison for twenty-three years, set about winning over the fiercest proponents of apartheid, from his jailers to the head of South Africa’s military. First he earned his freedom and then he won the presidency in the nation’s first free election in 1994. But he knew that South Africa was still dangerously divided by almost fifty years of apartheid. If he couldn’t unite his country in a visceral, emotional way—and fast—it would collapse into chaos. He would need all the charisma and strategic acumen he had honed during half a century of activism, and he’d need a cause all South Africans could share. Mandela picked one of the more farfetched causes imaginable—the national rugby team, the Springboks, who would host the sport’s World Cup in 1995.

Against the giants of the sport, the Springboks’ chances of victory were remote. But their chances of capturing the hearts of most South Africans seemed remoter still, as they had long been the embodiment of white supremacist rule. During apartheid, the all-white Springboks and their fans had belted out racist fight songs, and blacks would come to Springbok matches to cheer for whatever team was playing against them. Yet Mandela believed that the Springboks could embody—and engage—the new South Africa. And the Springboks themselves embraced the scheme. Soon South African TV would carry images of the team singing “Nkosi Sikelele Afrika,” the longtime anthem of black resistance to apartheid.

As their surprising string of victories lengthened, their home-field advantage grew exponentially. South Africans of every color and political stripe found themselves falling for the team. When the Springboks took to the field for the championship match against New Zealand’s heavily favored squad, Mandela sat in his presidential box wearing a Springbok jersey while sixty-two-thousand fans, mostly white, chanted “Nelson! Nelson!” Millions more gathered around their TV sets, whether in dusty black townships or leafy white suburbs, to urge their team toward victory. The Springboks won a nail-biter that day, defying the oddsmakers and capping Mandela’s miraculous ten-year-long effort to bring forty-three million South Africans together in an enduring bond.

John Carlin, a former South Africa bureau chief for the London Independent, offers a singular portrait of the greatest statesman of our time in action, blending the volatile cocktail of race, sport, and politics to intoxicating effect. He draws on extensive interviews with Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and dozens of other South Africans caught up in Mandela’s momentous campaign, and the Springboks’ unlikely triumph. As he makes stirringly clear, their championship transcended the mere thrill of victory to erase ancient hatreds and make a nation whole.

Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon: How to Be Your Own Best Coach

Brad Hudson, Matt Fitzgerald

Amazon Price: $11.16 List Price: $13.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Broadway Amazon Marketplace: 39 new & used starting at $8.63

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Do you want to run faster? Are you trying to peak for a particular race? Would you like to find your true running potential? Brad Hudson, former Olympic Trials marathoner and current coach to Olympians like Dathan Ritzenhein, will show you the way in this practical, reader-friendly guide. Hudson is the most innovative running coach to come along in a generation. Until now, only a handful of elite athletes have been able to benefit from his methods. Now Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon shows all runners how to coach themselves as confidently and effectively as Brad coaches his world-class athletes. Becoming your own best coach is the ticket to running faster at any distance.
First you will learn to assess your abilities. Then you’ll learn how to devise a training program specifically geared to you. Filled with easy-to-follow sample training programs for distances ranging from the 5K to the marathon and abilities ranging from novice to advanced, Run Faster is the cutting-edge guide for optimal performance.
With Hudson’s guidance, you can train smarter and more effectively—and avoid injury. And you’ll soon be running faster than you ever thought possible!

Daniels' Running Formula

Jack Daniels

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Human Kinetics Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 56 new & used starting at $12.46

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 72 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Get in the best shape of your running career with the scientifically based training in Daniels’ Running Formula. In the book that Runner’s World magazine called "the best training book," premier running coach Jack Daniels provides you with his proven VDOT formula to guide you through training at exactly the right intensity to become a faster, stronger runner.

Choose from the red, white, blue, and gold programs to get into shape, target a race program, or regain conditioning after a layoff or injury. Race competitively with programs for 800 meters, 1500 meters to 3000 meters, cross country races, 5K to 15K, and half-marathon up to the marathon. Each program incorporates the right mix of the five training intensities to help you build endurance, strength, and speed, and Daniels’ intensity point system makes it easy to track the time you spend at each level.

The formula can be customized to your current fitness level and the number of weeks you have available for training, and it provides the perfect solution for short training seasons. Get the results you’re seeking every time you lace up your shoes for a training run or race with the workouts and programs detailed in Daniels’ Running Formula.

Mind Gym : An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence

Gary Mack, David Casstevens

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: McGraw-Hill Amazon Marketplace: 57 new & used starting at $8.41

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Swimming
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Mental Health -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Mental Health -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Best one for athletes! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I have read several books on the mental game in sports and this is by far the best. I work with collegiate and professional athletes and recommend this so often that Gary Mack should send me a commission!!!

not what i expected 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

a solid read, but i was expecting a book that got more into the intricacies of sports psychology, but this book seems to focus more on your thinking off the court then on it.

Well-written and entertaining 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

If you want to read an inspiring book on the power of the mind in sports, then this book is for you. It is not too packed with information, but it underlines many of the important points in mental coaching. Great stories and examples make it an uplifting read. The only thing missing was a step-by-step instruction guide to mind management - practice makes perfect.

Editorial Review:

Drawing on his work with some of the top teams in professional sports, noted sport psychology consultant Gary Mack shares with you the same techniques and exercises he uses to help elite athletes build mental "muscle." These 40 accessible lessons and inspirational anecdotes will help you gain the "head edge" over the competition.

Women's Strength Training Anatomy

Frederic Delavier

Amazon Price: $14.93 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Human Kinetics - Model: 0736048138 Amazon Marketplace: 74 new & used starting at $7.95

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A BRILLIANT BOOK for WOMEN who use WEIGHTS 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I LOVE this book!! Hiss Boo Sucks to all those who whine about it not including the woman's upper body. When I discovered this, after having already been totally impressed by the quality and thoroughness of the medical knowledge, anatomical detail, terminology and artwork in this book, I immediately ordered Delavier's STRENGTH TRAINING ANATOMY, the original volume, which does include both men and women, and which gives a full description of the arms, neck, shoulders and chest. The first volume of course also deals with the back, legs, buttocks and abs (as the Women's volume does), but the Women's Strength Training Anatomy covers these areas in much more detail.
Reason: because women have such different physical characteristics from men, particularly in their lower skeleton. This requires a somewhat different approach to weight training, as the muscles are attached at different angles in women than in men. I can only applaud M. Delavier for pointing this out, and for filling the gap by writing this EXTRA volume particularly for the use of women.
I was so impressed that I happily paid 3 times the price for each volume, here in Australia, as you pay in America. I bought both volumes - and then purchased more for my son and his wife.
I'm a radiographer by profession, so I see through people on a daily basis - unfortunately only the bones, however. The realistic anatomical illustrations in this volume are exactly what is required to depict the muscles used in each exercise, and to pinpoint the optimum exercises to build up whichever body part requires work. Thanks to the use of these books for just 6 weeks, I can now see and feel hard, shapely muscle developing all over my 52-year-old body. When I see an area that needs building up, I can flip right to the appropriate pages for the most effective exercises for that part. I work out my whole body every 3 or 4 days, and can feel a marked difference in muscle strength and shape by the time each training session comes due.
I have a barbell, selection of plates, adjustable dumbbells, a fit ball, and a very inexpensive weight bench with quad extension attachment. I pack this up and take it in the car with me on my mobile job assignments. I can do almost every exercise in these books with this simple equipment, and could not be happier with this book.
Women's Strength Training Anatomy is not the whole deal in itself - it is the companion book to Strength Training Anatomy; an EXTRA volume with much more detailed info written especially for women. I'm always delighted to buy 2 excellent books instead of just one!
As for the complaints that the illustrations are "sexual" and should include more clothes - well, to the pure, all things are pure. I don't see anything remotely sexy in the human body being drawn, pared down to layers of skin, fascia, muscle, tendon and bone. But it is very helpful for educational purposes.

Editorial Review:

With information on strengthening and toning the legs, buttocks, abs, and back, Womens Strength Training Anatomy provides full-color, detailed anatomical illustrations of exercises for these hard-to-shape areas. What makes this book unique is that readers can see the muscles at work during each exercise, like an X ray of the body in motion. According to the best-selling author and illustrator of Strength Training Anatomy, the answer is an overwhelming yes! Exercise variations based on a womans unique anatomical features are also covered, helping to isolate muscles and make each exercise more effective.