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ACSM's Complete Guide to Fitness and Health - American College of Sports Medicine
ACSM's Complete Guide to Fitness and Health
by American College of Sports Medicine
NEW, 408 pages
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About ACSM's Complete Guide to Fitness and Health
You know the importance of good health, but how do you achieve it? And how do you maintain it through the years as your body and lifestyle change, introducing obstacles to physical activity and optimal nutrition? In ACSM’s Complete Guide to Fitness & Health, you will find the answers and much, much more.
The American College of Sports Medicine, the largest and most-respected sport science and medicine organization in the world, has created the ACSM’s Complete Guide to Fitness & Health to strip away common fads, myths, and misconceptions and provide you with the latest research, sound advice, and age-specific recommendations that you can trust.
You will learn these strategies:
- Optimize your weight, improve heart health, and increase aerobic fitness, strength, flexibility, and balance.
- Improve your health by managing diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis and joint pain, pregnancy, and osteoporosis through exercise and proper nutrition.
- Determine your body composition and current cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness levels.
- Monitor, evaluate, and adjust your exercise program over time for optimal results.
- Introduce exercise, increase physical activity, and improve your diet for more energy and better health (no matter what your age!).
Featuring step-by-step instructions and full-color photos for the most effective exercises, sample workouts, practical advice, age-specific physical activity guidelines, and strategies for incorporating exercise into even the busiest of lifestyles, ACSM’s Complete Guide to Fitness & Health is a resource that belongs in every family’s library.
About ACSM
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is more than the world's leader in the sports medicine and exercise science—it is an association of people and professions exploring the use of that science and physical activity to make life healthier for all people.
Since 1954, ACSM has been committed to the promotion of physical activity and the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of sport-related injuries. With more than 20,000 international, national, and regional chapter members in 80 countries, ACSM is internationally known as the leading source of state-of-the-art research and information on sports medicine and exercise science. Through ACSM, health and fitness professionals representing a variety of disciplines work to improve the quality of life for people around the world through health and fitness research, education, and advocacy.
A large part of ACSM's mission is devoted to public awareness and education about the positive aspects of physical activity for people of all ages from all walks of life. ACSM's physicians, researchers, and educators have created tools for the public, ranging in scope from starting an exercise program to avoiding or treating sport injuries.
ACSM's National Center is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, widely recognized as the amateur sports capitol of the nation.
Reviews of the Book
“This book is a great resource that compiles key information on the major areas of exercise, fitness, and health. It should be on the shelf of every fitness enthusiast.”
Steven N. Blair -- Original President of the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, Author of Fitness After 50 and Physical Activity and Health
“ACSM’s Complete Guide to Fitness & Health provides the programs, principles, and guidelines for achieving your desired results safely and efficiently. This is the authoritative book that you need.”
Wayne L. Westcott, PhD, CSCS -- Fitness Research Director, Quincy College, Author ofStrength Training Past 50 and Fitness Professional's Guide to Strength Training Older Adults
“ACSM’s Complete Guide to Fitness & Health is a phenomenal resource on customizing health and fitness programs for people of all ages and abilities. Everyone can benefit from this valuable source of information on living a healthy lifestyle."
Melissa Johnson, MS -- Former Executive Director, President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
“ACSM's Complete Guide to Fitness & Health should be in every family’s library. With activities and sample exercise programs for every age group and fitness level, the book offers an authoritative guide to fitness and health.”
Stephanie Wood -- Executive Editor, Parenting Magazine
About Fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness (a state of health and well-being) and specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations). Physical fitness is generally achieved through exercise.
In previous years, fitness was commonly defined as the capacity to carry out the day’s activities without undue fatigue. However, as automation increased leisure time, changes in lifestyles following the industrial revolution rendered this definition insufficient. These days, physical fitness is considered a measure of the body’s ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure activities, to be healthy, to resist hypokinetic diseases, and to meet emergency situations.
Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health or wellness. It is performed for various reasons. These include strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight loss or maintenance and for enjoyment. Frequent and regular physical exercise boosts the immune system, and helps prevent the "diseases of affluence" such as heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity. It also improves mental health, helps prevent depression, helps to promote or maintain positive self-esteem, and can even augment an individual's sex appeal or body image Childhood obesity is a growing global concern and physical exercise may help decrease the effects of childhood obesity in developed countries.
Types of exercise: exercises are generally grouped into three types depending on the overall effect they have on the human body. Flexibility exercises, such as stretching, improve the range of motion of muscles and joints. Aerobic exercises, such as cycling, swimming, walking, skipping rope, running, hiking or playing tennis, focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance. Anaerobic exercises, such as weight training, functional training or sprinting, increase short-term muscle strength.
ACSM's Complete Guide to Fitness and Health
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