Books On Athletic Training

The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance

We all know a high school star athlete. Whoever made it appear so simple. He was the starter shortstop and quarterback, while she was the all-state point guard and the state champion in the high jump. Naturals. Or did they not?

The argument is as ancient as athletic competition. Are Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, and Serena Williams genetically wired whose sole purpose on Earth is to conquer their particular sports? Or are they simply ordinary individuals who have surpassed their biological limitations through sheer willpower and relentless training?

The reality is significantly more complicated than a simple opposition between nature and nurture. Since the mapping of the human genome some years back, researchers have steadily begun to establish the correlation between biological characteristics and the training environment of an athlete. Gradually, sports scientists have entered the current era of genetic study.

David Epstein, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, examines the classic nature vs nurture issue and how far science has progressed in answering this great puzzle in this provocative and engrossing examination of athletic achievement. He explores the so-called 10,000-hour rule to see if constant and intense practice from a young age is the sole path to sports achievement.

A Still Quiet Place for Athletes: Mindfulness Skills for Achieving Peak Performance and Finding Flow in Sports and Life

Find your flow and achieve your top performance, both in athletics and in life. This workbook is based on the ground-breaking Still Quiet Place mindfulness approach and contains practical, step-by-step activities and tools to help you attain present-moment awareness and your sports goals.

Looking for creative methods to “get in the game”? To improve your training and gain concentration? You aren’t alone. From lower divisions to professional football champions to Olympic sports, players and coaches are increasingly incorporating mindfulness practices into their training. Because of this, mindfulness can help you reduce stress, connect with the present, and mentally recover from failures. Consequently, whether you are a sports fan or a pro athlete, mindfulness may help you deal with the physical components of training, including weariness, pains, aches, burnout, injury, and exhaustion.

Written by an integrative and holistic physician, mindfulness coach, and longtime athlete Amy Saltzman, this pragmatic workbook provides mindfulness-based strategies you may apply throughout your sports career and in everyday life. You will discover what the author affectionately refers to as the “still quiet place,” and from that serenity, you will be able to analyze your feelings, thoughts, and physical sensations—before and during training and competition, between events, after a miss or substantial loss, or after an exhilarating win. You will also acquire abilities for working with coaches and teammates efficiently, as well as techniques for coaching with awareness. A parents’ guide is available as well.

The Janda Method of Muscle Imbalance Evaluation and Treatment

Assessment and Treatment of Muscle Imbalance: The Janda Approach combines postural approaches, neuroscience, and functional abilities to eliminate chronic musculoskeletal discomfort and enhance functionality. Revered neurologist physician and physiotherapist Vladimir Janda created the Janda approach, which offers a novel perspective on rehabilitation. In contrast to a more typical structural perspective, the Janda method is functional, emphasizing the relevance of the sensorimotor system in regulating movement and chronic musculoskeletal pain syndromes resulting from general and sports activities. Assessment and Treatment of Muscle Imbalance: The Janda Approach is the only book that provides a practical, evidence-based implementation of Janda’s theories.

Assessment and Treatment of Muscle Imbalance present information that can be utilized in conjunction with other therapeutic approaches systematically, complete with pictures, photos, and step-by-step directions. This professional resource includes the following tools:

• A theory for musculoskeletal system rehabilitation based on the connection between the motor system and the central nervous system.
• A methodical approach to the functional evaluation of the muscular system
• Processes concentrate on the triad of stabilization of peripheral structures, restoration of muscular balance, sensorimotor training, and enhancement of afferent systems.
• The role of muscular instability and functional dysfunction of sensorimotor systems in the development of certain pain complaints, such as upper- and lower-extremity pain syndromes, cervical pain syndrome, and low back pain syndromes.

Muscles and Meridians: The Manipulation of Shape

George Mumford is credited by Michael Jordan and several other NBA greats with changing their games. Mumford, a well-regarded coach, and public speaker reveals his tale and techniques in The Mindful Athlete. Whether an Olympian, executive, weekend warrior, artist, or hacker his techniques revolutionize the performance of everyone with a purpose.

Mumford, a former basketball player at the Massachusetts University (where he shared a room with Dr. J, Julius Erving), was forced to retire due to injuries. The medications that alleviated his injuries’ pain also dulled him to the desolation he felt without the game, ultimately leading him to heroin. After years as a functional addict, Mumford centered his life around meditation. He gave up drugs, acquired a master’s degree, and began teaching inmates and others meditation.

Mumford went on to collaborate with Phil Jackson, a longtime mindfulness practitioner, assisting him and each of his NBA championship-winning teams. In addition to businesspeople and Olympians, his roster of champion clientele also includes other elite athletes. With a compelling tone that blends mindfulness with teachings from legends such as Yoda and Bruce Lee, Mumford provides an engaging narrative and a great resource.