ACSM's Complete Guide to Fitness & Health

Book excerpt: Here is the ultimate resource for maximizing your exercise and nutrition efforts. In this new edition of ACSM's Complete Guide to Fitness & Health, you have an authoritative reference that allows you to apply research-based guidance to your unique health and fitness needs. With a focus across the life span, this resource shows you how to pursue optimal health and fitness now and throughout the years to come. The American College of Sports Medicine, the largest and most respected sport science and medicine organization in the world, has created this book to bridge the gap between science and the practice of making personal lifestyle choices that promote health. This new edition contains age-specific advice within the framework of the latest research, thus helping you to avoid the lure of fads, unfounded myths, and misinformation. You will learn these strategies: • Incorporate the latest guidelines for physical activity and nutrition into your daily routine to improve your fitness and overall health. • Optimize your weight and increase strength, flexibility, aerobic fitness, and functional fitness. • Improve health and manage conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression, osteoporosis, arthritis, pregnancy, and Alzheimer’s disease through exercise and nutrition. • Monitor, evaluate, and tailor your exercise program for optimal results. Featuring step-by-step instructions and full-color photos for the most effective exercises, sample workouts, practical advice, age-specific physical activity and dietary guidelines, and strategies for incorporating exercise and healthy nutrition choices into even the busiest of lifestyles, ACSM’s Complete Guide to Fitness & Health is a resource that belongs in every fitness enthusiast’s library.