(Part 2) Best ab workout books according to redditors
We found 324 Reddit comments discussing the best ab workout books. We ranked the 47 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
Here is a great book - Karate-Do Kyohan by Gichin Funakoshi translated by Tsutomu Ohshima.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking to study Kyudo. It was the book I was given by my instructor and it really helped me improve my technique.
Here is most of my library, broken down, with links and some thoughts on each.
Karate Specific
Kobujutsu Specific
Other Martial Arts
Health and Anatomy
EDIT: I can't believe I forgot this one...
I'd recommend this one.
I would highly recommend the book Strong by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove. They are the guys who wrote NROLFW and wrote this book as a more developed approach to starting with the compound lifts and building up your core strength to lift without injury. All the exercises are explained with modifications to make them easier or more difficult. By the end of the program you are doing back squats, deadlifts, etc.
Oh, that's too bad... In that case, if you can get a hold of the book Kyudo: The Essence and Practice of Japanese Archery, I think it would be a good primer before you go. It was written by Dan and Jackie DeProspero, two kyudo practitioners who live on the Eastern Seaboard of the US. From what I understand, Mr. DeProspero is one of the few western practitioners actually went to Japan and became a "live-in-apprentice" to one of the last generation's kyudo masters. His book is an easy read and gives a very good intro to Kyudo today.
In terms for advice on how to find a Dojo in Japan, I would refer you to Rick Beal Sensei of the Nanka Kyudo Kai, in Southern Calilfornia. More than any other sensei that I've met, he seemed more interested about "spreading the gospel" to anyone who might be interested about learning Kyudo. He is a very friendly and knowledgeable man who has gone to Japan many times and I'm sure that he may be able to refer you to a Dojo.
>Finally I am considering getting a bow as a souvenir, as I said I shoot traditional in the UK so I am used to shooting English longbows and other wooden bows but from what I've read during my research a bamboo yumi would be too delicate for regular outdoors shooting, especially in the british weather but I have seen that you can get fiber glass yumi and carbon fiber yumi, would either of these be suitable enough for regular outdoor use?
I understand that Kyudo is about more than just the bow but the yumi is such a stunning design I can't help but want one for myself.
I didn't actually see this part last night - Sorry for not addressing this. With one exception, I would highly discourage you from getting a bamboo bow (even though they are very beautiful. This is because of the construction...
Depending on your height, the length of the yumi (bow) that you would purchase can range from 212- 245 cm. The width and thickness usually do not range more than about 2.5 to 3 cm. Most bamboo bows are lamellated with an inner core consisting of several long and thin strips of hardwood. Because of this, the bows are actually rather delicate and if you draw the bow incorrectly (ie. A significant amount of tension in your hands which would cause torque at the distal tips of the bow), you can really cause the innards of your bow to splinter.
The exception would be if you bought a bow from Don Symanski sensei. He is another western kyudo practitioner who lives in Colorado, USA. Somewhat like DeProspero-sensei, he apprenticed himself to a bowmaker in Japan for a number of years. To my knowledge, he is really the only competent yumi-artisan in the USA at present. He does have a stylistic difference than bowmakers in Japan in that he will make Yumi with solid cores for beginner use. Usually, these are purchased by the Kyu-dojo to be used as a "general class bow". These are much more sturdy, but don't draw nearly as smoothly as the laminated bows.
Unless you really start practicing kyudo, I'd recommend that you go with a carbon-fiber or fiberglass bow (if you just want a bow to shoot for fun). The bamboo bows do require specialized care, especially the first several months after you buy it. The shape and curves of the bow are very prone to warp during the "break-in" period if you don't know what you're doing (and since you live rather far away from London, there may not be an experienced kyudo practitioner who can help fix the warping without damaging your bow). The damp weather probably won't help much either.
Anyway, I hope that helps you.
Amazon Link
For me, having an exercise buddy helped me transition to strength training. For the longest time I always thought that working out meant getting my heart rate up and sweating a lot. I was really naive to the benefits of weightlifting and found it to be dreadfully boring. Then my senior year of college a friend wanted to start weightlifting to get stronger and asked me to be her gym buddy. We were total beginners and weren't really following any real programming. We did spend a lot of time on the machines, but we did barbell squats as well as a few other free weight type of exercises. Then college graduation came and I moved to a new town where I knew nobody. I reverted back to my cardio only ways for years. Loved spinning classes as cross training. Started running half marathons.
When I was 28 I created an MFP account to actually track calories and lose weight. Even though I ran a lot, I was still really heavy. I started reading and learning so much more about weightlifting and all of it's benefits. I have been on the quest to get a good balance of cardio and weightlifting workouts ever since. My short weightlifting experience in college made it much easier to start weightlifting versus how it would be for an absolute beginner. This quest has been twice interrupted by pregnancy, so here I am, starting over again.
My current routine looks like this:
Sunday: Long run day (currently 60-90 minutes)
Monday: Active recovery, possibly yoga (more of the restorative stretching kind)
Tuesday: Weightlifting
Wednesday: Short run (30 minutes)
Thursday: Weightlifting
Friday: Short run (30 minutes)
Saturday: weightlifting, which I skip all the time - weekends get crazy! But active rest at best (playing with kids).
The weightlifting I am doing is the program from the book Strong. The routines are ~1 hour. The first couple stages are structured as follows:
Go to your local bike shop and talk to them. One of the best parts of cycling is the community.
Also, I like this book.
Edited: Formatting the link
Hey there, hi there, ho there! Get ready: paragraphs ahead!
Texas, huh? This situation's tough, and despite some elbow grease, Google hasn't got anything guaranteed to offer. Regardless, I've found a few possible locations that offer Kyudo lessons in Texas.
Before all else though: to the best of my ((very) limited) knowledge, yabusame is largely a ceremonial (rather than recreational) practice in current days, and as such, isn't so widely taught and practiced-- I don't think it's even something tested for in the examination to achieve "renshi" (teacher) rank with the International Kyudo Federation. You should not expect any given teacher or Kyudo practitioner outside of Japan to have a thorough knowledge of the process... much less be in a position to teach. I hope I'm wrong on this front, though. If I am, then your best bet for the nearest yabusame practitioner on-the-grid may very well be one of the highest ranking individuals in the four biggest states for Kyudo: California, Indiana, North Carolina (not "big" in so many words, but the two people who literally wrote the English book on Kyudo are a part of this renmei), or South Carolina. A long drive, to say the least! For now, I'd act optimistically but plan for the worst-case scenario.
There are three possible places where you might be able to learn Kyudo in Texas, as far as I can find.
There's the Texas Kyudo Renmei, associated with the American Kyudo Renmei (the nationwide organization that plays nice with the All Nippon (Japan) Kyudo Renmei and the International Kyudo Federation). I'm finding conflicting information on this group, however. On one hand, my 2013 edition copy of Kyudo: The Essence and Practice of Japanese Archery puts the group in De Soto, Texas with Michael Mason as president (email listed as [email protected]). The American Kyudo Renmei website (quite possibly out of date) shows the Texas Renmei as being situated in Dallas, though-- with a man by the name of Mark Wegmann running the show. I get the impression this Dallas group at least has folded-- the IKYF's site doesn't list Texas in their 2010 list of American Renmei, and the comment from one Liz here suggests Mark of Dallas has been unreachable for some time. Meanwhile, De Soto's quite the drive for you, huh... .__.;; You're free to try your luck with either of these options-- they might be able to tell you about any closer grassroots groups that don't have an internet presence, at least.
The remaining two places are the most likely to have something to your immediate advantage.
Austin, Texas has a place called the Austin Shambala Meditation Center. The meditation center advertises some form of Kyudo seminar, held twice a month with a $15 cost. I expect this is a get-your-feet-wet kind of program, rather than a group that meets regularly, and that might not be what you're looking for.
Second, an alternative Kyudo group named Zenko International that I'm honestly 100% unfamiliar with shows on their website two practicing groups in Texas-- one in Austin, one in San Antonio(!)-- with a name, email address, and phone number for each group. These two will be your best bet in my book.
Something to remember with places that aren't affiliated with the International Kyudo Federation, though, is that the teachers in such places will be operating outside the renmei system of ranks (dan) used to show progress and mastery of Kyudo principles and practices on the international stage. You should talk with the people who run these groups-- get to know them, where they learned the sport, what drives their interest in it, and if the style of Kyudo they have to teach (because there are different styles, hoo boy) is in line with the style that Zen in the Art of Archery prepared you for. So long as everything checks out by your eye-- that their answer to where they learned the sport is not "Well, I read this one book once..." and that the style is in line with what you're looking to learn-- you shouldn't worry about teachers outside the still pretty nascent American Renmei. The only advantages to learning with one of the IKYF affiliated renmei are if learning specifically the federation's style is a priority for you, if you hope to take and pass dan ranking exams, or participate in competitions or the renmei organization-- and the absence of these won't stop you from being able to learn Kyudo as a different style of archery. \^\^
In the event you can't find any yabusame teachers in Texas, you should email someone with the American Kyudo Renmei (contact info here) to ask about the state of yabusame in the United States, and what your options in that regard are. If you get any word back, positive or negative, let us know! That's the kind of info there ought to be available online what isn't, and it's always great to get updates from fellow kyudoka!
Setting aside the question of yabusame for a moment-- in the event you can't find any Kyudo teachers in Texas, you can still get your feet wet with Kyudo through the use of books and practice material. There's two books that have the greatest sway in English:
The first is Kyudo: The Essence and Practice of Japanese Archery, which is regarded as the most clear and detailed walk-through of general Kyudo practices, from firing from a standing, kneeling, and etc. stances with pictures and comments how holding the bow, common mistakes and how to recognize them (and fix them), and the principles taught with the mentality aspect of Kyudo. It's written originally in English by two high-ranking kyudoka who learned directly from one of the greatest Kyudo masters of the last century, rather than being a translation of Japanese material.
There's also the translation of volume one of the All Nippon Kyudo Federation's original Kyudo manual (unavailable for purchase online near as far as I can tell). This is a wordy translation of the thorough manual used for practice and teaching in Japan-- it's through my Japanese high school Kyudo club adviser that I got my copy, in fact. Only the first volume of this manual ever got an English translation though, and I can can confirm that the first volume doesn't go into yabusame. The only way to get a copy of this is to talk to the All Nippon Kyudo Federation directly and arrange for a money order and shipping. The manual's been made available online freely though on this site, though the legality of uploading the manual seems like dubious ground to me (I doubt the ANKF, the copyright holders, did the uploading..). Reading the material there isn't illegal though, and you can certainly use it to determine if the manual's an investment you'd like to make. The back of my book says it cost 3,060 yen-- so the cost for you would-- or should-- be something like ~$30 + shipping.
I'm sorry I don't have anything guaranteed to share, especially about yabusame! Kyudo's still a massively new sport stateside, with no real foothold or tried-and-true infrastructure to go to to get definitive answers online for questions like these. If there's any further questions you've got, me or any other kyudoka on r/Kyudo here are sure to have an answer of some kind for you, even if just contact info on who to be asking.
If you don't want to wait until college, you could try You Are Your Own Gym (Mark Lauren) or Gym-Free and Ripped (Nathan Jendrick). (Amazon links)
In addition to Ray Long's anatomy book and blog that were also mentioned here which are really amazing and a must have as it is broken down by muscle. It's what we used in my yoga teacher training and something I look on frequently. One of my teachers were trained by Judith Lasater. I hear her her old book is a good pairing with that, although she is writing a new one that has a better editor and more years of wisdom behind it. She take a slower moving approach that is a awesome for when getting into specific regions of the body safely.
Rock Warrior's Way is indeed fantastic; and PRC has some good mental sections.
I'd advise Ungerleider's book, even though it's non-climbing related: Mental Training for Peak Performance - great stuff. Note that it's quite short (80-100 pages IIRC,) so get it from the library if you can.
Also, I haven't seen 9 out of 10 climbers mentioned. I bought it and have read it several times. MacLeod has a wandery style of writing, but if you like it then you might find the book useful. It's felt more like a confirmation of ideas that I've felt about climbing for a long time than an introduction of new ideas. (Wow, poor sentence construction.)
I got mine from amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Weeks-Pull-Ups-Strengthen-Shoulders-Consecutive-ebook/dp/B004XOZ7MA
The program changes depending on your base amount of pull ups. So how many weeks it takes, does depend on your base. 7 weeks is if you are really damn good at pull ups to begin with.
Looks like it's available for as an e-reader for the Kindle/Kindle app. Probably going to have a hard time finding it published for free anywhere online. Worth the $15 in my opinion though.
I hate running as well. My cardio is all HIIT. If you can't afford a gym, get a jump rope and do any of the following intervals
You can also run stairs, hill sprint, flip tires, do sledge swings, etc. Since you're starting off being pretty out of shape, you won't be able to do a long HIIT workout, but fortunately you don't need the sessions to be long for them to be effective.
If you get access to a gym or free weights, find a book called Cardio Strength Training.
Yes
Recommend getting a book New Rules On Lifting and Mens Health Big Book Of Exercises.
NROL has a pretty solid program made by Alwyn Cosgrove. The big book is a good reference for movements.
There are lots, of varying quality.
Off the top of my head are the books by Nestor Capoeira, who is deeply respected for lots of reasons. He has a series of three books, only one is formatted as a sort of technical manual, but the others are highly entertaining and fascinating in their own right and discuss important elements beyond just the movements of capoeira.
http://www.amazon.com/Nestor-Capoeira/e/B001JRUQ8Y
There is also the Capoeira 100, and Capoeira Conditioning. These have some issues, while the contain photos of various movements, the instructions seem to go like "First, prepare to do the flip, next, perform the flip, finally, finish the flip." Also be aware that different capoeira groups use different names to refer to moves, there are very few that are completely stable between groups, so the names of the moves in the book might not be how they are referred to by any group you meet.
seriously though, google is your friend. So is amazon books.
There are lots of youtube videos, around too. Like Com Expressao who have a basic movements video, and some tutorials on more advanced moves, but those that i've seen do not discuss the use of those movements in the roda. They post here occasionally as well as /u/comexpressao .
You should check out BBLS - well worth the read. I switched to his BLS program last year when I hit a plateau and that got me through it. Switched to the Beyond program earlier this year.. consistent gains on that too. His books are fucking great.. basically a better researched and more comprehensive guide than the reddit fitness wiki.
Got into working out quite a bit after college - since I continued to play sports (prior to picking up golf) I didn't want to just become an inflexible muscle head but add function as I get stronger. I guess the best example from the mold would be Lebron.
Anyway, below is the book I have focused my workouts/nutrition around for the last 6-7 years (6'3 160lbs to 210lbs) and I feel like it has made the power and round endurance a non-issue since I started playing a little over 2 years ago ... so I can just focus on stop sucking at the sport itself :)
http://www.amazon.com/Mens-Health-Power-Training-Performance-based-ebook/dp/B001EHE22A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415728831&sr=8-1&keywords=power+training
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074VMNVNF
This looks good, but HIIT and tabatas are about using a lot of energy in a short time span. Not all exercises are suited for this. Also, if you're going all out, you will sacrifice form and shouldn't do anything that risks injury when this happens, like deadlifts (yeah, you can go light, but then you're sacrificing effort).
Some that I saw that don't fit are handstands, planks,...
Maybe add a category for bodyweight. Those exercises are already included, but it's not clear in which category.
A very good book with lots of different types of exercises is Cardio strength training.
I'm absolutely not shitting on your effort (it' s more than I've ever created), just giving some pointers.
If you want, I can list all the exercise from that book (tonight orntomorrow).
> The Anatomy Of Stretching
This one :)
https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Stretching-Second-Illustrated-Rehabilitation/dp/1583943714
I'm going to sound like an infomercial now, but bare with me :)
Tim Ferriss wrote a book called the 4-Hour Body and it is essentially a tome of knowledge with chapters on weight loss, weight gain, building muscle, having better sex and so on. There is a lot of great knowledge in there and it's not at all a bad investment.
Other than that you can get a lot of stuff done with dumbbells and youtube access. I recently linked to this video in this forum and it's a good place to start when it comes to lifting and building muscle at home. The guy is goofy, but he is essentially right and big on safety and all of that, which would make a difference to someone with bulging discs. Check out his channel for more videos.
Other than that I would suggest that you find a great book on stretching as muscle cramps and fatigue might be painful for someone who is getting old, has bulging discs and might be losing a little range of mobility. I haven't tried it yet, but I am getting this book myself.
Now all of that is for home training of course, but only because if your father chooses to go to the gym, I am sure they will have plenty of people educated in the field to give him good advice and ways to get started.
Good luck and let me just add how refreshing it is that a 68 year old man with bulging discs wants to get into lifting. I really love that. But remember to be careful, go slow and focus on form especially in the beginning.
I picked up this book about anatomy and stretching that has proven very helpful in learning how to stretch out my back more effectively: https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Stretching-Second-Illustrated-Rehabilitation/dp/1583943714/
https://www.amazon.com/Muay-Thai-Basics-Introductory-Techniques/dp/1583941401
The technical information contained in this book is very good.
I'm not clicking a random wordpress article
I've read many books on karate, even the "bible" of karate, karate do kyohan and there's never been one mention of Siamese martial arts
> "The Source Of Taijiquan"
This? https://www.amazon.com/Chen-Style-Taijiquan-Source-Boxing/dp/1556433778
EDIT: Seems not. Dug up my copy, and while it has at least one unindexed mention of Feng Zhiqiang, I could not find anything about him teaching zhan zhuang in the village.
This comment mentions the same bit of lore (Master Feng teaching zhan zhuang methods in the village) https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/31411-if-you-practice-zhan-zhuang-for-how-long-do-you-stand/?do=findComment&comment=555331 but is unsourced.
The bio heading the interview of Master Feng by Jarek Szymanski floating around says "Feng Zhiqiang visited Chenjiagou three times, teaching Taijiquan to the 19th generation descendants of the style. Many Taijiquan practitioners of Chen clan from Chenjiagou were also often coming to Beijing to deepen their studies with Feng.", but no offers no details. (http://www.chinafrominside.com/ma/taiji/FZQinterview.html)
I would ask your physical therapist. They assessed your musculature, so they know which exercises will work best. Tell them you understand too many exercises would be overwhelming, so ask them to only give you 2-3.
If that doesn't work out this book is verbose, but excellent
https://www.amazon.com/Core-Program-Fifteen-Minutes-Change/dp/0553380842/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=core+for+women&qid=1572474735&s=books&sr=1-1
I have sciatica, and I had to stop lifting for 6 months because of it. One thing that has helped me was to work on my abs. There was also a stretching routine that I did from this book. I know it looks ridiculous and old, but it was what saved me. I was going to the doctor and PT for over a year and still experienced constant pain. Even now, when I sit too long or sit incorrectly, the pain comes back. I am now able to lift comfortably, and this is proof. It's one of my YT videos where I'm squatting. Sciatica is not something that goes away, but it is definitely manageable. When I even feel a slight twinge, I'll go to the stretching routine immediately before it gets worse. I am hoping to film the stretching routine tomorrow, and I'll PM you the link if you do not want to purchase and read the book. I lost my copy, but I remember what I do to help my pain. Best of luck!
Look for this book in your local library or independent bookstore; these are some great exercises for every able-bodied person.
Diet is important to consider; I wasn't looking to lose weight but when I cut out sugars and bread products, I ended up not only feeling better mentally and physically and getting rid of some respiratory allergies for awhile, but I lost a lot of fat. It makes sense, if you're trying to be more healthy, to check your eating habits and start eating more of the food that makes you feel healthy and less of the food that makes you feel bad afterward.
Please remember to check with your healthcare practitioner to make sure your diet and exercise plans fit your body.
Might check this out. Sounds similar to what you are looking for and I had great results with it.
https://www.amazon.com/Strong-Workout-Programs-Metabolism-Strength/dp/0399573437