Fitness Resources
The books, programs, and social media accounts that have been instrumental in my athletic development.
I have previously made several posts on gratitude. One emphasizing the practice and one collective considerations on the concept.
Regular reflection and gratitude keep me motivated and wanting to improve. If not for the present and future benefits, then to honor those who provided me the opportunity.
I’m fortunate in countless ways. When considering my physical abilities and accomplishments in jiu-jitsu competitions or a world record in burpees, there is zero chance I’d have had any success without the various forms of support I’ve received since getting into athletics as a child.
I could write all day about the people in my life and how incredible they’ve been throughout such as my children, wife, parents, sister, other family, friends, coaches, teammates, and mentors. I wanted to use this post, however, to share the books, programs and online resources I have gained knowledge and support from throughout my career thus far.
If you’ve read any of my Intentional Stress Workout of the Week posts (all listed in corresponding tag in my navigation bar), you’ll know I emphasize the mental side of any workout more than the physical.
Exercise can is an excellent vehicle for resilience training with prepared mental states.
Concepts like perceived exertion, reframing, nasal breathing, flow states, clutch states, emotional intelligence, grit, and pain tolerance can all be specifically trained during a physical challenge. As you become more proficient in a particular skill, it can then be transferred and applied to other domains in your life.
My ability to program workouts while emphasizing the mental side of a challenge has come from years of trial and error leading to progressive improvement.
Learning through experience.
The resources below reflect a good portion of the knowledge and inspiration I’ve gained from books and online resources.
“Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own.” -Bruce Lee
Books
Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett
Kelly Starrett is a world-renowned physical therapist whose writing and videos are amongst the best in the world for all things fitness and mobility. This book is the one to get if you’re interested in proper form of any functional movement. Pain resolution and injury prevention protocols are also emphasized but my love for this book came from its in-depth descriptions of how to optimize technique for athletic performance.
Power Speed Endurance by Brian MacKenzie
Brian MacKenzie is one of the most sought out strength and conditioning coaches in the United States. In this book, he breaks down his training protocols to aid anyone in developing endurance safely and effectively. Anything and everything you’d need to know about controllable factors to improve your ability to cover distance on foot, a bike, or in the water is covered in incredible detail.
The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss
Tim Ferriss has written many bestselling books, and this is one of his best. Evidence-based protocols to develop fitness and fulfillment efficiently. Tim always has had a way of providing valuable information in a very entertaining and easily digestible format.
Beyond Training by Ben Greenfield
Ben Greenfield is a health and fitness expert who is known for practicing what he preaches and using himself as an ongoing science project to study human optimization. If you want a deep dive into training philosophy, recovery, nutrition, supplementation, and physiology, then this is a good one to read.
Unplugged by Brian MacKenzie, Andy Galpin, and Phil White
Excellent and easy read from several titans in the fitness and exercise physiology space. Unplugged discusses pros and cons of biometric technology while emphasizing the value of subjective feedback and limiting the use of wearables. Really interesting and thoughtful points about taking advantage of technological advancement for fitness and health without relying on it.
Super Squats by Randall Strossen
Super Squats was written in 1989 by Randall Strossen, kinesiologist, historian, and strength conditioning expert. Super Squats outlines a time-tested method to develop strength and muscle mass. The entire program centers around the 20-rep squat workout with the addition of eating wholesome food, drinking a lot of milk and getting plenty of rest between workouts. Short, easy read for anyone wanting to focus specifically on good old gains.
As Many Reps As Possible by Jason Khalipa
Jason Khalipa won the CrossFit Games in 2008 and has since gone on to become successful in business and many other personal pursuits. Jason describes how his fitness mindset helped him effectively manage and eventually overcome extreme adversity throughout life, particularly when his daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. Inspirational read that combines fitness with resilience.
Built To Move by Kelly and Juliet Starrett
Kelly and his wife Juliet essentially take the ten most important skills a human being would need to be fully functional and make a chapter for each one. The skill, how to develop it, and most importantly explaining why is described in great detail. Can’t recommend this one enough for anyone wanting to set an excellent foundation for functional mobility and fitness. Injury prevention, life extension, and optimized performance are all possible from the Starrett’s recommendations.
The World’s Fittest Book by Ross Edgley
Ross Edgley is an internationally acclaimed fitness trainer known for achieving multiple fitness world records and athletic feats to include:
Swimming around Great Britain in 157 days
Completing a marathon while pulling a car
Continuously climbing a rope until he reached the height of Mount Everest
Longest nonstop river swim (318 miles)
Completed an Olympic-distance triathlon while carrying a 100lb tree
Ran 1,000 miles barefoot while carrying a 50lb backpack over the course of a month
In The World’s Fittest Book, Ross provides workout structures, methods, and examples for any type of fitness adaptation. Excellent read for those who want to learn more about exercise science, programming workouts. and recovery.
The Art of Resilience by Ross Edgley
The Art of Resilience is my favorite of all of Ross Edgley’s books and maybe of all the fitness books I’ve read in general. It’s a detailed account of his historic 1,780-mile swim around Great Britain. The story itself, including his preparation for the attempt, is incredible. What I enjoyed most, however, was the time he spent explaining his general mindset and various specific mental states he had to lean on throughout the challenge. Inspirational example of what the human body is capable of with a resilient mind.
Blueprint by Ross Edgley
In this book, Ross outlines a comprehensive training program that can take anyone from novice to advanced. He explains the methodology behind a phased approach to training so athletes can peak at appropriate times and/or effectively recover from injury. Countless examples and guidance behind developing a variety of adaptations such as speed, power, strength, stamina, and endurance within these phases are explained.
Every Ross Edgley book is fitness combined with resilience gold.
Hard Work Pays Off by Mat Fraser
Mat Fraser is the most successful and dominant male CrossFit athlete of all time. In Hard Work Pays Off, he explains his training methodology and protocols for getting into and maintaining peak conditioning for any/all types of fitness. Mat also shares his mental strategies in order to work through the rigorous challenges he faced both in training and competition throughout his career.
Challenging Beliefs by Tim Noakes
Challenging Beliefs is a memoir of the legendary Tim Noakes, South African sports scientist. An extremely interesting read where Tim shares evidence-based beliefs that run contrary to many of the myths that plague sports relating to hydration, performance enhancement, recovery, and nutrition. Countless stories that demonstrate the power of science, knowledge, and experimentation in the effort of improvement. Tim Noakes is one of the most impressive minds in the history of exercise science and this book demonstrates why.
8 Weeks to SEALFIT by Mark Divine
Good, easy read by a former Navy Seal describing a training program that can be utilized to get into excellent shape within a relatively short amount of time. The author uses concepts from the military to inspire readers to cultivate a warrior spirit to accomplish the physical challenges he poses.
Fitness Programs
Extreme Kettlebell with Keith Weber
I first heard of Keith Weber on the Joe Rogan podcast. Joe, who is in excellent shape, was discussing this extreme kettlebell program he had been doing that blew his mind. With only a 35lb kettlebell, he said he could get one of the best workouts of his life in less than an hour. I decided to look into this Keith Weber guy and found some of his digital programming online for purchase. The extreme kettlebell series is still set of workouts I will go back to or build off of when using one of my favorite pieces of exercise equipment, the kettlebell. Rogan was right, with a short amount of time and a light kettlebell, you can absolutely torch your entire body.
During COVID, my fitness coach and good friend from Guam let me know about this guy named Ryan Fischer whose fitness programs he had just found online. Very detailed, modifiable systems aimed at various adaptions. I haven’t followed too many programs from start to finish but I completed several of Ryan’s during this time. CrossFit-style workouts that can be done with or without equipment based on the program. He has since become part of Chalk Performance Training and his various programs are available through their app-based platform.
I was familiar with and had intermittently done some of the P90x and Insanity workouts that were popular back when I was in college in the early 2000s. I never paid for any of their programming, however, until my wife let me know she wanted to do the 21-day FIX as a way to get in better shape before our wedding. Long story short (I’ll tell the longer one in a separate post another time), it’s a fantastic program within an impressive system of workout styles and instructors that is Beach Body. Very affordable platform compared to competitors with guided exercises of all kinds. This is my wife’s go-to app that is excellent for anyone who wants instruction without needing to go to the gym or get a personal trainer.
Instagram Accounts
In no particular order, I’m a big fan of the following Instagram accounts for workout ideas, inspiration, instruction, or entertainment.
thedadwod
theboxprogramming
repwerks
jtm_fit
primal_swoldier
crossfitlinchpin
electrum_performance
onnit
kettlejitsu
athleanx (YouTube channel is also really good)
btwbapp
paulsklarxfit
marcusfilly
ebenezersamuel23
dr.joelseedman_ahp
benbrunotraiming
whiteboard_daily
speedofsport
thetrainingmanual
gym.load
wod_roulette
assaultfitness
mtntough_fitness
roguefitness
We stand on the shoulders of giants. My hope was to share some of the giants that have been beneficial to my athletic development in this post.
Share in the comments any of yours!
Great book list, Kyle. Just what I need more books to read. Then there’s the problem of where to put them. I’m a big fan of kettlebells though the only books I’ve read are Pavel Tsatsouline’s. How about a kettlebell challenge using something(s) from Weber or an explanation why you picked him over Pavel
Thank you.. Really interesting reading. Including Book recommendations, which I'll follow up on. Great subject.