Bigger Faster Stronger (BFS) remains the premier training program for high school and college athletes. The third edition of the Bigger Faster Stronger book includes the latest research; training protocols for strength, speed, power, flexibility, balance, and agility; and new content on balance, safety, and plyometrics.

Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body By Michael Matthews

A New York Times bestseller “A smart and important book.”—Gretchen Reynolds, author of The First 20 Minutes Publications as varied as Wired, Men’s Fitness, and The New Yorker are abuzz over the New York Times bestseller Faster, Higher, Stronger. In it, veteran journalist Mark McClusky explains how today’s top athletes are turning to advanced technology and savvy science to improve their performance. Sports buffs and readers of David Epstein and Gretchen Reynolds will want to join McClusky as he goes behind the scenes everywhere from the Olympics to the NBA Finals, from the World Series to the Tour de France, and from high-tech labs to neighborhood gyms to show how athletes at every level can incorporate cutting-edge science into their own workouts.

Are you one of the millions of people out there who feel like they've read everything there is to read on fitness and have spent an enormous amount of time and money trying to get fit—and still failed? Until you know how your body really works and reacts to physical activity, you may never succeed. Eric Heiden, M.D., and Massimo Testa, M.D., two preeminent sports physicians who know the training needs of beginners as intimately as those of elite athletes, want to fix this problem. They know there has been an entire field of training science and medicine that has never been translated for the general public—until now. In a program that is designed for everyday people, Heiden and Testa bring us Faster, Better, Stronger, a customized, science-based program designed to guide you into a lifelong fitness habit, giving you step-by-step instructions on how to make the most of your body through exercise—physically, mentally, biomechanically, and nutritionally. In Part I, the doctors detail the solid science behind your body's responses to exercise. They share the same philosophy and medical expertise they have shared with world-class athletes and give scientific "secrets" in several areas of fitness: the prescriptive aspects of exercise; the biology of movement; the importance of fueling your body with the right food and water; what rest really accomplishes; and motivation. They also debug and clarify some all-too-often misunderstood medical and biological truths about training, and offer you ways to find your hidden talents and strengths. These doctors know that the luxuries of time and access are significant factors in getting fit, and thus Part II helps you design your own unique, individualized exercise program no matter your age, ability, experience, or schedule. Once you have assessed your current fitness level, the doctors guide you through assembling blocks of activities into a twelve-week program that will get you started on the road to lifelong health.

Finally, runners at all levels can improve their race times while training less, with the revolutionary Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST) program. Hailed by the Wall Street Journal and featured twice in six months in cover stories in Runner's World magazine, FIRST's unique training philosophy makes running easier and more accessible, limits overtraining and burnout, and substantially cuts the risk of injury, while producing faster race times. The key feature is the "3 plus 2" program, which each week consists of: -3 quality runs, including track repeats, the tempo run, and the long run, which are designed to work together to improve endurance, lactate-threshold running pace, and leg speed -2 aerobic cross-training workouts, such as swimming, rowing, or pedaling a stationary bike, which are designed to improve endurance while helping to avoid burnout With detailed training plans for 5K, 10K, half marathon, and marathon, plus tips for goal-setting, rest, recovery, injury rehab and prevention, strength training, and nutrition, this program will change the way runners think about and train for competitive races. Amby Burfoot, Runner's World executive editor and Boston Marathon winner, calls the FIRST training program "the most detailed, well-organized, and scientific training program for runners that I have ever seen."