The best Stretching Exercise & Fitness books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

The book "Becoming a Supple Leopard" has a number of great mobility exercises, as well as sections on the theory and how to correctly perform exercises. Highly recommended if you'd like to dig into a book that feels like a textbook.

https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Supple-Leopard-2nd-Performance/dp/1628600837

You should take a look at the book Roar, which I recently purchased. It is super interesting and explains how we can optimize our diet and fitness according to female biology and our hormone levels at diff times of the month :)
https://www.amazon.com/ROAR-Fitness-Physiology-Optimum-Performance/dp/1623366860

I don’t know if anyone can say what your body could look like since everyone distributes muscle and fat differently. All you can really do is diet and exercise in a way that is in line with your goals. For building a curvier, more muscular butt and legs I recommend r/StrongCurves. This is the program created by Bret Contreras and there is a Book by the same name. I am on week 5 and have noticed growth in my hamstrings and booty already. Good luck!

Some people just aren't as talented as others lol. It's like when you put in hard work to achieve something but someone who's a natural also achieves it without much work. There was an interesting book on this topic when it comes to athletics called "The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance"

I highly recommend reading if you ever have the time:

https://www.amazon.com/Sports-Gene-Extraordinary-Athletic-Performance/dp/161723012X

Yeah studies have shown exercise improves learning ability and retention. On my phone right now but just google it, it’s a big thing now.

edit: https://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-Brain/dp/0316113514

New Rules of Lifting for Women can give you a template plan for building strength unless you are already beyond that sophistication-wise. That emphasizes a lot of compound movements so the workouts aren't by upper and lower body days.

Because this seems to be an interesting topic to you, I would point you towards the book he mentioned (and on which this video heavily leans):

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

The book is packed with information related to some of the studies referenced in this video. Though I'm not a scientist and couldn't delineate various study methodologies in any rigorous way, some studies showed before/after performance on the same groups (cohorts?); some studies used randomized, double-blind tests with control groups; and some studies were longitudinal in nature, covering longer periods of time and larger swaths of the population.

In that respect, some of the problematic conclusions you have mentioned have already been approached by various researchers. Likely not all of them, but I would be very interested to hear what your thoughts are after reading the book underlying his message.

Thanks for the thoughtful comment! :-)

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend you purchase the Strong Curves book by Bret Contreras and read it in it’s entirety. It lays out exactly what steps to take and routines to follow. It even gives nutritional advice, talks about exercise frequency, & everything else a beginner needs to start lifting.

I found the New Rules of Lifting For Women to be really approachable. The writing's engaging with lots of references to studies and science and the exercises are all well explained (with pictures!).

It's been around long enough that you can find videos of each workout online, as well as excel spreadsheets to track your workouts/calories etc in.

(Caveat - I mostly ignored the nutrition chunk of the book so I can't say much about that part.)

Bret Contreras's Strong Curves is probably the best for female-centric programs for those women who want something with more legs and butt focus.

Awesome! Exercise and nature are a powerful combination. Relevant and recommended: Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey

People living at higher altitudes gain increased resilience over generations, and not without drawbacks. Examples of early adaptations are increased red blood cell count (increasing heart attack, stroke, and blood clot chance) and changes in organ size. Only after hundreds of years do these tend to normalize into adaptations without increased health risks.

So yes, as the carbon content increases you might see some changes in human biology over several hundred years. However, no individual person will change significantly, only their descendants. And the corollary to that is that, for selective change to occur, people with advantageous traits will need to survive more often than those without.

In other words, if people will adapt, as you claim, it will be because it killed those who didn't, at least a little more often. Why the hell would that reassure me in any way?

The studies linked showed inconsistent effects on relatively small increases in CO2 content; it also states (if you'd read it) that large changes (over 5% concentration) like those found in submarines or low-ventilation spaces have known negative cognitive effects.

So your example of submariners is basically bunk.

Care to try for a third time? Maybe not spouting unsourced, ludicrous claims about humans just magically becoming fine with fundamental changes to our living conditions?

Source for the high-altitude claims: The Sports Gene, a rather good book.

There has been some quality scientific literature on this. The Sport's Gene is where I first saw this issue raised. Epstein does a great job of synthesizing the scientific findings with anecdotal sports references. Apparently it's a huge advantage. It's not just hormonal differences. There's differences in bone density, differences in height, bone structure, hip function, fat to muscle ratio just to name a few, which translate to huge advantages in endurance and strength across a variety of sports. I cannot recall any sport where it was advantageous to be a women over a man, but it's been a few years since I read the book and the trans/man/woman comparison wasn't a major portion of the book.

E: Found a list online of the characteristics Epstein discussed if anyone is curious.

Among the key physical differences between the sexes. Men are / possess

• heavier and taller

• longer arms and legs relative to their height

• biggest hearts and lungs, thus able to absorb and process more oxygen

• twice as likely to be left-handed (high physical combat societies have more numbers of lefties – this arose due to natural selection as lefties have an advantage in combat)

• less fat

• denser bones, and a heavier skeleton that can support more muscle

• more oxygen-carrying red blood cells

• narrower hips which makes running more efficient and decreases the chances of ACL tears (epidemic in female athletes) while running and jumping

• 80% more muscle mass in upper body and 50% more in lower body

> I'd wager even intermittent fasting would improve blood sugar numbers in almost all type 2 diabetics.

It does. Dr. Jason Fung's book demonstrates that most type 2 cases he treats are off their meds after a month or so.

It's not so much the exercise or even necessarily the intensity that breaks us down over time - it's often suboptimal form/technique combined with suboptimal recovery that wears our bodies out prematurely.

A lot of people might say a particular exercise is bad for you when it would often be more accurate to instead say a particular exercise done with poor form/technique & poor recovery is bad for you.

Our bones & muscles & connective tissues & nervous systems are designed to work together in specific ways (biomechanics/kinesiology), and many of us are encouraged/motivated to undertake athletic endeavors without also being taught much about how to avoid straining ourselves in ways our bodies are not built to handle well.

If you haven't already, devour everything you can by Dr. Kelly Starrett, from his YouTube channel, to his Becoming a Supple Leopard book, and whatever other interviews, seminars, & guest appearances you can find. K-Star will fix you up from head to toe. Good luck.

my cycling team (all women) is getting into stacy sims... i think she might be more of what you're looking for:

podcast on training peaks: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/coach-blog/coachcast-optimizing-physiology-with-stacy-sims/

book all my teammates are passing around: https://www.amazon.com/ROAR-Fitness-Physiology-Optimum-Performance/dp/1623366860

I would recommend that you read https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Fasting-Intermittent-Alternate-Day/dp/1628600012/ And https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1771641258/

These books contains links to a lot of the studies that answers your questions in depth.

the only thing i would suggest is getting on a program that has some built in progression and frankly expertise behind it. i think r/strongcurves would be a place to start. It's based on this book, and authored by a guy known as the glute guy (Bret Contreras). On the subreddit i think you can find the program outlined somewhere. Additionally if you want the book, he came out with a newer book which is like a glute training encyclopedia. I don't see any of the programs from the newer book floating around on the internet but i haven't really been looking since i bought it. I'm not affiliated with him at all, but i see the progress my wife has been making on the program and endorse it. ok, that sounded creepy, but upon trying to reword it, i can't make it sound any better. But yeah, if you want do your research on the guy and see if it's right for you.

No it’s not sinful to break a fast. God is happy that you’re even trying, a lot of Christians don’t fast even though the Bible tells us to. I believe there’s a difference between fasting with God and fasting for him, and when it’s with him, Grace is there to help you and to empower you. There is no way I could’ve done the fasts that I have except by his grace!

I have a podcast episode i did on it if you want the link message me. Give some tips on what is helped me. Most of all I recommend this book called The Complete Guide to Fasting written by Dr Fung. It’s very informative!

Also fasting is not to get something it’s to become someone. You’re already close to God by the Blood of Jesus. Don’t use fasting as works, it doesn’t get us stuff. It helps us to learn who we are by the finished work.

As sports have evolved heights have gotten a lot more specialized. The average basketball player height has increased and the average gymnast height has dropped.

There's a book called The Sports Gene by David Epstein that goes into great depth about all of this, stuff like why Jamaica has great sprinters and why Kenya has great runners. It also disputes the "10000 hours rule" and talks about how people adapt to training differently. It's an amazing book and it really changed the way I look at sports. I highly recommend it, one of my all time favs.

https://www.amazon.com/Sports-Gene-Extraordinary-Athletic-Performance/dp/161723012X

Here's a short TED talk where he gives an overview of the book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8COaMKbNrX0

I know this is a meme subreddit, but if you're considering not eating, look into fasting, you will see incredible results with a little bit of knowledge and preparation. This book is fantastic, and there is a very active subreddit for all the major fasting methods.

I've done counting calories on-and-off in the past. And what I've really taken away from it is I can be good at tracking...tracking all those extra calories I didn't need 😝

But I've had my biggest success with food this past year after discovering and reading about fasting. The Complete Guide to Fasting, by Dr. Jason Fung (Amazon Link) is very informative and easy to read.

You don't need to do long fasts, I never have and don't plan on doing anything past a day. But following a 16:8 (16 hour fast + 8 hour feeding window) had helped me immensely. It's basically skipping breakfast (just get some coffee (black or with a little cream, NO sugar)) and delaying lunch so it's more of an afternoon snack, if anything, then dinner as normal. Following a 16:8 schedule really helped me get out of snacking at work... Which is my greatest challenge. I simply tell myself I can have that afternoon snack, but not till 3pm. By then that 2pm craving had subsided... But if it's still there then it falls within my feeding window.

The best thing about fasting is that there are so many protocols to follow, some are even do popular they have a common name (leangains, warrior diet).

I don't track calories, but I do yet to make smarter food choices (low carb, less sugar, etc...). This year I have gone from about 150 to ALMOST 140. And it's been pretty easy. No stressing, no debating if I can have this, no determining what do I have to sacrifice in order to have an indulgence. The 10# may not seem like much for nearly half a year, but I succeeded with that along with managing a of stress at work, which led to lots of junk food, a long distance relationship, and a cross country move for work.

If you don't want to commit to a $20 go check out a copy from your local library or check or out some of the subreddits to learn more: r/fasting r/intermittentfasting r/leangains

You should read this book:

The Complete Guide to Fasting (Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1628600012/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_u5IcGb59PSDE3

It’ll do a better job explaining it than anything anyone here says

It's totally fine - but working up to three days may be needed.

If you're interested in fasting, I suggest you get some quality information and not just ask around - even here, with all these fabulous people! Download Dr. Jason Fung's The Complete Guide to Fasting from Amazon. Lots to learn.

If you haven't already, devour everything you can by Dr. Kelly Starrett, from his YouTube channel, to his Becoming a Supple Leopard book, and whatever other interviews, seminars, & guest appearances you can find. Good luck.

Srong Curves is marketed to women but is a a good lifting program for anyone. There's a sub, r/StrongCurves, where you can find more support.

As for accidental bulking, that's not a concern for anyone really, let alone a woman on the road to ED recovery. Adding significant muscle mass is a choice that takes subtantial dedication.

You will do well brother.

I found the book <em>The Complete Guide to Fasting</em> by Dr. James Fung a good resource backed by science.

Stew's programs are the real deal. I ran his 12 weeks to BUD/S program and weightlifting is really not necessary. The training is mostly endurance based in order to best prepare your body and heart/lungs for whatever training program you may enter. You'll find that a lot of actual military training doesn't involve weight lifting. You don't need to be benching 315 to be a recondo.

I'd even say that if you were to weightlift in conjunction with one of Stew's prep programs, you'd be entering the overtraining threshold and risk injury.

Here is a book you may be interested in: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Supple-Leopard-2nd-Performance/dp/1628600837

I'm sure there's a PDF somewhere.

Did you know that when you exercise you’re stimulating/strengthening your central nervous system? If you knew the benefits you’d never stop working out.

https://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-Brain/dp/0316113514/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&amp;keywords=spark+book&amp;qid=1621826068&amp;sr=8-3

Unfortunately there is no good way to treat difficult patients, wheelchair patients, or stretcher patients. There is a good resource for cleaning up your mobility that I found useful.

https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Supple-Leopard-2nd-Performance/dp/1628600837/ref=nodl_