As we approach the end of the year, here are ten key books released in 2023. We have selected the most essential Human Kinetics titles for this year, covering yoga, strength training, sports history, and running.
10. Personal Best Running
Good racing doesn’t just happen. It’s a skill that must be honed with training and hard work. In Personal Best Running, Coach Mark Coogan shares his successful formula for running fast—while staying healthy and happy—without running taking over your life.
Coach Coogan has excelled in running as both an athlete and coach, producing numerous Olympic and champion runners. His success is founded in his belief that long-term running success is impossible if you’re not training and racing in the right environment and that running should never come at the expense of your overall physical or mental health.
9. History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity
History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity, Second Edition, seamlessly blends the historical and philosophical dimensions of the study of human movement. The text follows a chronology of human movement from our origins as hunter-gatherers to the present, offering philosophical and ethical analyses alongside explorations of cultural shifts that have emerged from different ethnic, racial, gender, and national traditions.
Updates to the latest edition include expanded coverage of diversity, equity, and inclusion topics; a deeper exploration of epistemology; a discussion of alternate forms of physical activity; and new material about the ethics of research. Contemporary topics of discussion such as the Exercise Is Medicine (EIM) movement, athlete biodata collection, and transgender and non-binary athletes in sport are thoroughly explored.
8. Yin Yoga 50+
The long, passive stretches of yin yoga help you release tension, and they improve your flexibility and mobility. But the benefits of yin yoga go beyond the physical. The slow, mindful nature of the practice helps reduce stress and calms your mind, giving you a greater feeling of well-being.
The book gives you the tools and inspiration you need to practice this soft, slow form of yoga. Find the benefits you get from each pose; try out sequences that help with everything from sore shoulders to improving your golf, hiking, and skiing; and start or end the day with a 15-minute fix to take the stress out of your joints and muscles.
7. Kettlebell Strength Training Anatomy
In Kettlebell Strength Training Anatomy, veteran chiropractic physician and former nationally ranked powerlifter Michael Hartle provides an inside look at kettlebell training. Breaking down the muscles and tendons used in each exercise, Hartle helps you better understand the link between muscle development and performance.
From the deadlift to the snatch, you’ll find step-by-step instructions on how to execute the exercise, the muscles involved, the anatomical focus, and the level of difficulty. You’ll also find variations that allow you to modify the exercise to better fit your specific needs. Over 100 full-color anatomical illustrations depict the muscles used in the exercises. The Exercise Focus element shows how the exercise translates to a specific sport or activity. And an entire chapter of mobility exercises will help you reestablish neuromuscular patterns needed in your training session to help you move better and prepare yourself for further training.
6. Run Healthy
If you are a serious runner, you are well aware of the aches and pains associated with the sport. Run Healthy: The Runner’s Guide to Injury Prevention and Treatment was written to help you distinguish discomfort from injury. It provides the latest science-based and practical guidance for identifying, treating, and minimizing the most common injuries in track, road, and trail running.
When injuries inevitably happen, you’ll know how to identify them, treat them, and recover from them. Get targeted recommendations for some of the most common issues runners face, such as plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis, shin splints, hamstring tendinitis and tendinopathy, and IT band syndrome.
5. Jim Stoppani’s Encylopedia of Muscle & Strength
As a leading authority on exercise science and former senior science editor for Muscle & Fitness, Jim Stoppani has helped millions of people change their lives through expertly designed training programs based on research and science. That tradition continues in his third edition of Jim Stoppani’s Encyclopedia of Muscle & Strength.
Packed with an impressive 380+ exercises and nearly 140 programs, this comprehensive encyclopedia of training will guide you in maximizing muscle mass, strength, and fat loss.
4. Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology
Internationally respected authors Robert Weinberg and Daniel Gould have built a text that addresses emerging trends and remains relevant with each new edition. Every chapter has been updated with the latest research and practice in sport and exercise psychology while maintaining and highlighting classic studies that have shaped the field.
In-depth learning aids have been refreshed to help students think critically. Specific content changes were made throughout the text to highlight significant advances in research and practices. These include areas such as mental health of athletes, effects of COVID-19 on athletes, mindfulness, legalized gambling, psychological issues surrounding the 2020 Olympic Games (held in 2021), and drug controversies.
3. The Complete Guide to Strength Training Methods
Sport performance coach Keven Arseneault has spent over 20 years reading, researching, and testing various methods to determine the best training techniques. In The Complete Guide to Strength Training Methods, he assembles these into a comprehensive resource that allows you to add variety and get the most from your workouts.
Each method is presented on a single page that highlights the technique’s advantages and disadvantages, effects on different aspects of fitness, and trainer tips. The page also has a prescription table that includes intensity or load, reps, and sets. This practical approach provides you with everything you need to incorporate the method into your program immediately.
2. Breath, Focus, Excel
You train your body for peak conditioning. You train your mind for mental toughness. Now train your breathing patterns to achieve your ultimate athletic potential.
In Breathe, Focus, Excel, Harvey Martin—breathing coach for top athletes and teams in the MLB, NHL, and NFL—explains the science behind breath work, how breathing affects various systems of the body, and why changing how you breathe can help you change your game. Like any skill, breathing is a fundamental movement pattern that requires training to achieve mastery. Breathe, Focus, Excel guides you through breathing exercises that will expand the rib cage, protect the spine, and strengthen the pelvic floor.
1. Becoming a Sustainable Runner
Becoming a Sustainable Runner is not just another running guide on developing the physical attributes to run faster or longer. What it will help you achieve is a newfound purpose that merges your passion for running with your concern for your health, your community, and the environment. It weaves together concepts of internal and external sustainability in a way that will help you run, think, and act in a way that is in line with your values.
Throughout the book you’ll enjoy stories from the authors about their personal challenges and triumphs as runners and stewards of the environment. Quotes and insights from well-known runners who are also climate change and environmental justice advocates underscore the breadth and depth of the issues facing us all.
Header photo by David Marcu