“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.”
– Margaret Fuller
Reading is knowledge. The average CEO reads 4-6 books a month, now we are not suggesting you begin reading thatmuch but there’s no doubt reading is a common trait among successful people and the more you read the more successful you will become. The most important part about reading is what you choose to pick up. There is much to benefit from reading outside your of your current focus or primary interests, such as reading history if you are a biologist, because there are different angles you can find that will benefit your current area of expertise. But we do feel it is still highly important to read inside your area of work to help build your foundations, allowing you to become the best version of your self at what you do. We have compiled a collection of 5 books we believe are fundamental to your progress as a trainer and essential to your business and knowledge base.
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UVU Training Guides
We’re assuming you haven’t heard of this one before and we wouldn’t be surprised considering it is a very niche book. It is predominantly a calisthenics based book with a few other training systems included such as weight and functional training. However, it looks at more than just training alone, the UVU (You Versus You) book series has been split into 3 copies titled Novice, Intermediate & Advanced. Each book includes chapters on mindset, nutrition, training and so much more. We highly suggest this book if your goal in fitness is to perform with your body at a high level but need everything from basics all the way up, click here to find a copy.
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The World’s Fittest Book
This next book you’ve probably heard of, currently Amazon’s number 1 best seller in Fitness Training and a 4.8-star rating, this book is a must. Released this year in May, it’s up to date content takes an interesting approach to fitness by first ruthlessly debunking the entire fitness industry for its false advertising etc. The book then dives into the life of Ross Edgley and his most wild fitness challenges including a rope-climb the height of Everest, a treeathlon (triathlon carrying a 100lb tree on his back) and many more. The book then goes into nutrition and training at multiple levels attempting to give fundamental insight into becoming truly fit.
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7 Habits of Highly Effective People
This book is not directly related to fitness and training but is related to your business as a personal trainer and has sold over 15 million copies (!). The book has a tremendous number of positive reviews and is really a book about success as human being and how we can implement certain habits into our lives to become more effective at what we do. This is why we believe it will be a useful read for your business as a trainer because the book is very adaptable to all fields and industries. Stephen R. Covey has been highly regarded for his approach to this book.
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Strength Training Anatomy
Detailed and descriptive with clear and concise information followed by artistic illustrations, this book has sold over 1 million copies and can probably be found in almost every library and bookstore. Strength Training Anatomy book is a must read. If you are looking to better your understanding of the function of the human body in relation to strength-based exercises, this book will help you understand visually how the body moves and functions to activate certain muscle groups.
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Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes & Coaches
Much like the Strength Training Anatomy book, the Olympic Weightlifting book is also a training guide looking at Olympic lifts specifically to help better educate the reader into how to perform Olympic lifting. The book is very informative and is the type of book you would find at a university library with dust covering it, but those are the books worth reading, the ones who still have a place on the shelf are the ones with the best information. Be sure to look out for an up to date edition.
If you found this post insightful, why not check out some of our previous posts on our blog page or if you are interested in becoming a qualified personal trainer check out our main page for course information and if you have any questions feel free to email us at info@focusfitnessuk.com.
Written by Daniyal Siddiqui.