Warm, sunny days at the park or the beach offer the perfect chance to devour a few good books. Why not start your summer reading list with some health and fitness titles to inspire your best year yet? Check out these recommendations from Olympus Fenwick, then get to work!
The Fitness Mindset: Eat for Energy, Train for Tension, Manage your Mindset, Reap the Results by Brian Keane
Maybe you’re setting out on a new fitness journey, picking up weight training, or prepping for your first-ever marathon. Brian Keane’s book The Fitness Mindset would be a great place to start your reading, as it illustrates the importance of both physical and mental health. Keane offers helpful thoughts on the physical aspect – not just training but elements like nutrition and sleep – as well as the cognitive aspect – considering things like how to establish a training schedule and finding mental strength.
The Core 4: Embrace Your Body, Own Your Power by Steph Gaudreau
Tired of all those before-and-after images? We are too! Strength and nutrition coach Steph Gaudreau offers a refreshingly holistic approach to health that is geared toward women but helpful for everyone. In the The Core 4: Embrace Your Body, Own Your Power, Gaudreau introduces four “pillar” principles – Eat Nourishing Foods, Move with Intention, Recharge Your Energy, and Empower Your Mind – to dismantle pervasive harmful messaging from the health and fitness industry while building positivity in its place. Hers is an empowering message about celebrating what your body can do rather than critiquing what it looks like.
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
While you wouldn’t find it on the shelves next to other health and fitness titles, James Clear’s Atomic Habits could be the most practically helpful book you read on the topic. A former baseball player himself, Clear has plenty to say about applying his principles specifically to fitness training – but the brilliance of his research on habit formation is that it can support any positive change you want to see in your life. Full of practical advice like habit stacking (adding a new habit you want to establish on top of a habit you already do regularly) and how to create positive mental associations, Atomic Habits gives readers the recipe for building consistent behaviors that lead to success.
How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss by Michael Greger
If weight loss is a health goal for you, ditch the diet fad books and pick up Dr. Michael Greger’s How Not to Diet. As a nutrition expert who is both knowledgeable and sympathetic, Greger leads with scientific research, pointing to the data and illuminating a proven path to weight loss. You’ll find helpful discussions on what causes obesity and the value of plant-based diets. No crash diets here – just the facts on how to establish a simple, healthy, and sustainable lifestyle.
Happy Reading (& Training!)
In between your summer reads, make sure to check in on the Olympus Fenwick blog for more health and fitness tips, nutritious recipes, and ideas for staying active in Savannah.