My Sources of Information
Where do my methods come from? The strategies and facts I use to my advantage and pass onto others through this website didn’t simply appear in my head after watching cartoons and movies. As with any passion you have to absorb as much information as possible, while keeping the concepts simple. The other problem is multiple sources will often contradict each other, even some of my sources don’t exactly match up with each other, but over time you’ll figure out what works best for you and what makes the most sense. So, below are my sources of information:
Experience & Networking
Before I let you exactly where my research is primarily based, I must stress the importance of experience and networking. Getting out there and taking action (however misguided as it can be in the beginning) is what really drives your path and puts you in the right direction.
Meeting people (or in my case, acting like a dickhead) at local gyms, even just during social gatherings or at work is one of the best ways to build a network of people who understand what they’re doing (at least to a degree, some will be hopeless!) and can help guide you through their mistakes, so you can avoid them. The most valuable information you can get is from someone who knows what they’re doing, and can respond to what you’re saying and asking.
One piece of advice, don’t take advice from someone who doesn’t appear to have achieved results similar to what you want! A skinny ‘rake-like’ guy won’t be able to give you the best muscle building tips, just like you wouldn’t learn how to burn fat from someone who looked like Jabba the Hutt. That is where reading a book by a world-class professional is a good way to polish off what you’ve already learned.
Putting these things into practice is what will give you a deeper understanding of the world of fitness.
My Library
A Small Chunk of My Personal Library!
Reading is the key to getting the very best information from the world’s most experienced experts. The closest you’ll get to hearing personal advice bodybuilding from Arnold Schwarzenegger, advice from Mark Sisson about going primal or info from any other world class professional (short of meeting them) is to read their books. I always make a point to read for half an hour every night. If I don’t have a book, I find one to buy!
Some of the books in this list are E-books, which I usually print off and bind at a local print shop or copy onto Kindle.
Weight Loss & Fitness
Below are the books I recommend over any others for learning the best methods for stripping body fat and getting a lean, fit body.
The Primal Blueprint
Weight Loss • Health • Lifestyle
I cannot say enough about this book – Mark Sisson’s outlook on a lifestyle that matches our primal genetic design is one that has changed the way I think about fitness & nutrition completely. Years of research were slowly leading me towards a similar ideal, Mark’s book just completed and perfected the outlook for me. If you could only choose one book on fitness and health to read in your life – make it this one.
For more info check out the official website.
Free Shipping Offer – Switch on Your Fat Burning Genes
The Truth About Six-Pack Abs (E-Book)
Six-Pack Development • Weight Loss • Fitness
This E-book written by Mike Geary has a complete exercise and nutrition plan that is extremely easy to follow – and it’s aimed at attaining what everyone wants – a cool ass sixpack! I found this book extremely helpful to better understand core strength development, as well as structuring of my diet. It’s completely packed with tips – I highly recommend it.
This book is an E-book, in PDF format. You receive the book instantly and it can quite easily be printed and bound. Visit the Official Website for more info.
Muscle Growth & Strength Training
I don’t have an awful lot of trouble gaining muscle mass, but gaining muscle without gaining fat is my challenge. I’ve met people who swear by these books and they have helped me accelerate my strength and conditioning far beyond what I would have expected in the past.
Muscle Gaining Secrets (Ebook)
Muscle Growth • Strength Training • Fat Loss
To put it simply, I bought this book because of the hype behind Jason Ferruggia. I’ve read his columns in Men’s Fitness, including his awesome Transformation. If there’s one thing Jason understands, it exactly what exercises benefit the naturally skinny. He narrows this all down and talks about a heightened level of intensity when lifting weights. If you’re a naturally skinny guy and failing at putting on muscle – I could literally throw this book at you, it’s the friggin’ bomb.
If He-Man had a PT, it’d be Jason Ferruggia.
This book is an E-book, in PDF format. You receive the book instantly and it can quite easily be printed and bound. Visit the Official Website for more info.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding • Muscle Growth • Fat Loss • It’s Big Arnie!
Arnold Schwarzeneggers’s book is probably the most information packed book in my library. Arnie demonstrates and explains a large amount of weightlifting movements for just about any muscle group while touching on nutrition and bodybuilding competition strategies. Another interesting part of thsi book is the history of weight lifting and bodybuilding, with a look at bodybuildign’s greatest competitors from before and after the ‘Golden Age’ of Bodybuilding. While this is a valuable book for a complete reference of exercises and bodybuilding, if you’re trying to gain mass naturally and having a hard time, I would probably try another book as this one is useful but mainly for reference.
No Nonsense Muscle Building (E-Book)
Skinny guy’s guide to Building massive Amounts of Muscle
The title explains it. – a ‘No Nonsense’ guide to adding muscle to an otherwise naturally skinny guy. Vince’s experience from a pathetically skinny guy into a Canadian Physique Champion have made him a well-known name in muscle building. Vince share’s his approach which details exactly what you need to do (as easy as hard as some things may seem for a skinny guy), which has resulted in well over 20,000 guys having packed on mass, thanking Vince for his info.
This has resulted in Vince’s goal of wanting to bulk up 1,000,000 skinny guys by 2030!
This book is an E-book, in PDF format. You receive the book instantly and it can quite easily be printed and bound. Visit the Official Website for more info.
Flexibility & Warming Up
Yeah, I know this can seem like the boring stuff. But if you want to increase your flexibility and decrease your risk of injury, get yourself educated on stretching properly and warming up.
Stretching Scientifically
Flexibility • Warming up • Injury Avoidance
If your idea of stretching is to simply perform a few static stretches before a workout, you need to read this book. They way most people stretch has little to no benefit to warming up and avoiding injury let alone actual flexibilty. This book will get you stretching correctly and take your flexibilty to a whole new level.
If you are trying to gain enough flexibility to do the splits, this book is very direct and will get you there in a few months.
Competitiveness
If you love to compete in sports, martial arts or any form that requires a little mental preparedness and strategy, then I have one book to recommend:
Sun Tzu’s the The Art of War
Competitiveness • Strategy
Sun Tzu’s Art of War is a book that translates quite flexibly form War to just about any field of competition. Form sport to business, people all over the world use this book as a reference for strategy and planning. An excellent book for Martial Artists.
Martial Arts & Fitness
Although I only occasionally discuss Martial Arts training and fitness on this website, I do have a few Martial Arts books I recommend. Fitness training for martial artists is different then just standard weight lifting and sprints. It requires a more specific approach, the below books a re based around Bruce Lee’s Training Methods.
Bruce Lee’s Fighting Method
Self Defence • Fitness • Martials Art Technique
Bruce Lee was among one of the fittest men of his time and pound for pound one of the strongest. Tapping into some of his methods will not only make you fitter, stronger and leaner, but a better martial artist (assuming you train in a form of Martial Arts). I currently have the four individual books but they’ve since combined them intro one for for a little convenience.
The Art of Expressing the Human Body
Fitness • Martial Arts Specific Conditioning & Fitness
This book is all about Bruce Lee’s fitness routine and how it can benefit you. While there is a focus on general fitness and losing body fat, there is also a large percentage of Martial Arts specific training with a complete list of exercises for each body part.
An excellent resource for martial arts fitness.
The Internet!
I also read a few blogs quite regularly, for a complete list check out my links section. Cheers!
Follow @fitness4humans