The list of books which you can read under the umbrella of Sports Performance and Functional Training is way too extensive to discuss. Different sports have different performance requirement and training methodologies. Therefore, we will stick to books discussing sports in general. We will not be discussing books on sports biomechanics, sports physiology, or kinesiology.
Here are my list of recommended books on sports performance and functional training:
1.New Functional Training for Sports – Michael Boyle-This book helps produce the best results on the court, field, track, and mat, not just in the weight room. Michael Boyle ,one of the world’s leading sport performance coaches, presents the concepts, methods, exercises, and programs that maximize athletes’ movements in competition. A series of functional assessments help in determining the design of a specific plan for each athlete. Self-reinforcing progressions in exercises for the lower body, core, upper body, and ultimately total body give athletes the balance, proprioception, stability, strength, and power they require for excelling in their sports. Sample programs assist in the customization process and ensure each aspect of preparation for physical performance.
Boyle also draws on the latest research and his wealth of experience to offer programming advice and recommendations on foam rolling, stretching, and dynamic warm-ups.
New Functional Training for Sports goes beyond traditional exercise descriptions and explanations, incorporating full-colour, high-definition composites of foundational movements as well as online access to video demonstrations, commentary, and analysis of key exercises. New Functional Training for Sports is a refined and expanded version of Boyle’s original work published more than a decade previously.
2.Functional Training – Juan Carlos Santana-Author Juan Carlos Santana brings you his revolutionary approach to training and conditioning methods sure to improve your function in any sport or activity.
Functional Training covers the recent breakthroughs, the most exercises, and proven programs that you can follow or incorporate into your existing training plan. Offering strength, endurance, power, and sport-specific exercises and programming, Functional Training is a comprehensive resource for every athlete, coach, and athletic trainer. Covering the concepts, exercises, progressions, and sequencing on which a sound functional training program is based, it addresses the needs of more than 11 sports and features 135 exercises, including body weight, bands and pulleys, dumbbells and kettlebells, medicine balls, and stability balls.
Functional Training features a three-tier approach for integrating functional movements into an existing strength program. Through assessment and analysis, you will identify the movements and muscles involved in your sport, then select the best exercises and programs based on desired results and performance goals. In addition to quick exercise sequences and personalized programming to address the big four sport skills, more comprehensive programs can be developed to address your athletic and performance needs and goals. No matter what your sport, Functional Training will help you achieve optimal results.
3.Functional Training Handbook – Craig Liebenson– It is also one of the best books on sports performance and functional training. This book helps you each a whole new level of physical training, whose big-picture approach to movement fosters lifelong health, mobility, and athletic development. This practical guide delivers clear, how-to- information, an array of sport-specific guidelines, and key principles that will keep your clients at peak performance.
Features: Sport specific chapters include Baseball, Basketball, Cycling,Dance, Football, Golf, Hockey, Mixed Martial Arts, Olympic Weight Lifting, Skiing, Soccer, Swimming, Surfing, and Tennis. Emphasis on functional exercise explores the physics of weight-bearing and balance to reduce repetitive motion injuries Guides to injury prevention, safe workouts, re-injury avoidance, and practical strategies for active athletes.
4.Functional Training for Athletes at All Levels – James C. Radcliffe– with over 100 exercises—illustrated with step-by-step photos—and 20 sport-specific workouts, Functional Training for Athletes at All Levels will help you acquire the athletic movement skills necessary to maximize your performance in any sport.
- Develop a rock-solid core for supreme stability
- Strengthen your trunk for explosive power
- Sharpen fast-twitch muscles for lightning-quick responses
- Coordinate your muscles for full body control
- Enhance your stabilizers for quick, agile movement
Functional Training for Athletes at All Levels customized sport-specific workouts for, Baseball, Basketball, Bicycling, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Hockey, Lacrosse, Rugby, Skiing, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball, Wrestling.
5.High Performance Training for Sports – David Joyce & Daniel Lewindon-This book presents the latest and most effective philosophies, protocols and programmes for developing today’s athletes. High-Performance Training for Sports features contributions from global leaders in athletic performance training, coaching and rehabilitation. Experts share the cutting-edge knowledge and techniques they have used with Olympians as well as top athletes and teams from the NBA, NFL, MLB, English Premier League, Tour de France and International Rugby.
Combining the latest science and research with proven training protocols, High-Performance Training for Sports will guide you in these areas: Optimise the effectiveness of cross-training, Translate strength into speed, Increase aerobic capacity and generate anaerobic power, Maintain peak conditioning throughout the season, Minimise the interference effect, Design energy-specific performance programmes. Whether you are working with high-performance athletes of all ages or with those recovering from injury, High-Performance Training for Sports is the definitive guide for developing all aspects of athletic performance. It is a must-own guide for any serious strength and conditioning coach, trainer, rehabilitator or athlete.
6.Strength & Conditioning for Team Sports – Paul Gamble-This book is designed to help trainers and coaches to devise more effective high-performance training programs for team sports. The book introduces the core science underpinning different facets of physical preparation, covering all aspects of training prescription and the key components of any degree-level strength and conditioning course, including:
- physiological and performance testing
- strength training
- metabolic conditioning
- power training
- agility and speed development
- training for core stability
- training periodisation
- training for injury prevention
Bridging the traditional gap between sports science research and practice, each chapter features guidelines for evidence-based best practice as well as recommendations for approaches to physical preparation to meet the specific needs of team sports players. Fully illustrated throughout, it is essential reading for all serious students of strength and conditioning, and for any practitioner seeking to extend their professional practice.
7.Routledge Handbook of Strength and Conditioning: Sport-specific Programming for High Performance – Anthony Turner-This handbook introduces the essentials of sport-specific strength and conditioning programme design for over 30 different sports. Enhanced by extensive illustrations and contributions from more than 70 world-leading experts, its chapters present evidence-based best practice for sports including football, rugby, tennis, hockey ,basketball, rowing, boxing, golf, swimming, cycling and weightlifting, as well as a variety of wheelchair sports.
Every chapter introduces the fundamental requirements of a particular sport – such as the physiological and biomechanical demands on the athlete – and describes a sport-specific fitness testing battery and exercise programme. Additional chapters cover the adaptation of programme design for special populations, including female athletes, young athletes and athletes with a disability. Drawing on the experiences of Olympic and Paralympic coaches and trainers, it offers original insights and practical advice from practitioners working at the highest level.
