Whether you are new to CrossFit or have been doing it for some time now, odds are you love it and can’t get enough it, right?
In A Hurry? Here Is The List
- Shoulder Flexibilty Solution: Fix Your Pain
- The Power Of Community: CrossFit And The Force Of Human Connetion
- First: What It Takes to Win
- The Workout Log
- Becoming a Supple Leopard
- Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide For Athletes and Coaches
- Breaking Parallel: A Guide to CrossFit Gymnastics and Body Movement
- Free+Style: Maximize Sport and Life Performance with Four Basic Movements
- Training for the CrossFit Games: A Year of Programming used to train Julie Foucher
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How Books Can Help CrossFit Athletes & Their Training
In a world of smartphones and being constantly connected to the internet it can be easy to overlook the benefits of a good old fashioned book.
But they shouldn’t be overlooked. A good book can tell you so much, particularly if you’re looking to dive headfirst into a subject such as CrossFit workouts. Want to see how the best CrossFit athletes on the planet such as Katrin Davidsdottir and Rich Froning approach their training? You will find it in a book. Want to find out more about the CrossFit program and the CrossFit games in particular? You will that in the best CrossFit books we have reviewed below.
Of course there is a vast amount of information online nowadays. At Athlete Muscle we pride ourselves on being a world-class resource for fitness and strength training programs, but that doesn’t mean a book can’t help to take your training to another level.
Below you can find the detailed descriptions of each of the top eight best CrossFit books we reviewed.
Be sure to leave us a comment below to let us know what books you plan to read and if you read any of the books already, what you took away from it.
What CrossFit’s About
The Power of Community: CrossFit and the Force of Human Connection, By Allison Wenglin Belger
If you’ve ever wondered what the big deal about CrossFit is, (or are already a fan) this book will enlighten you. In a nutshell, the author talks about how humans thrive in a supportive community.
In this book, Belger includes her own story of competitive sports, wilderness adventure, and her “discovery” of CrossFit. She explains, in plain English, the desire for humans to be part of a like-minded community. Belger also shares the stories of others who have faced crises with the help of community affiliations, and the mental toughness that can be formed within the world of CrossFit.
Allison is also a licensed psychologist and owns four CrossFit affiliate gyms in Northern California.
The Power of Community: CrossFit and the Force of Human Connection on Amazon.com
First: What It Takes to Win, By Rich Froning
Rich Froning is a four-time CrossFit Games World Champion. Those wins earned him the title “The Fittest Man on Earth”. This book is basically Froning’s personal story. He shares some training tips, motivational techniques, and spiritual insights. Overall, it’s a great read if you want to know what goes on in the mind of “The Fittest Man on Earth.”
Towards the end of the book, Froning includes a section each of common CrossFit terms and abbreviations. He also lists out CrossFit workouts and Hero workouts, perfect if you’re looking for more CrossFit ideas or want to incorporate more cross training into your fitness regime.
First: What It Takes to Win by Rich Froning on Amazon.com
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The Workout Log, By Joe Oliver
This book is what the title indicates – a workout log book. Serious CrossFit athletes that want to keep track of their progress in one place will find this log book really helpful.
There is a handy-dandy conversion chart – kilograms to pounds – on the inside cover. The first page explains how to use the book. The next two pages are designated for body measurements, height, weight, and your PR on squats and bench press. The rest of the book is used to keep track of reps, sets, weights used, and even cardio workouts. There’s also a section where you circle how the workout went – “bad” to “excellent”.
CrossFit Training Books
Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance, By Dr. Kelly Starrett with Glen Cordoza
If you want to get the most out of your training and the best performance out of your body, then you need to read this book.. Kelly Starrett, as founder of MobilityWod.com, shares his approach to mobility and maintenance of the human body. He explains dysfunctional movement patterns and teaches you how to correct them.
In this book, some of the things you’ll learn how to do are:
- prevent and rehabilitate common athletic injuries
- overhaul your movement habits
- develop strategies that restore function to your joints and tissues
- accelerate recovery after training sessions and competition
Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide For Athletes and Coaches, By Greg Everett
The Olympic lifts are a big part of CrossFit, this book teaches CrossFitters and coaches how to do them properly. Everett covers almost everything in the book including teaching progressions, lift analysis, error correction, programming, competition, supplemental exercises, warm-up protocols, and nutrition. He even gives some sample training programs.
This is an invaluable tool that you will refer to often.
Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes & Coaches on Amazon.com
Breaking Parallel: A Guide to CrossFit Gymnastics and Body Movement, By Jeff R. Tucker
This book is not going to be released until February 2015. You’ll have to pre-order it but you’ll be glad you did.
Jeff Tucker is director for the CrossFit Gymnastics Trainer Course. He created this book to teach athletes the basics of gymnastic movements. It includes hundreds of bodyweight exercises and fitness programs. He also teaches you how to fix common problems whether from strength, mobility, or coordination issues.
Some things you’ll see are:
- Conditioning drills for developing basic strength
- Handstand exercises that develop balance and upper body strength
- Ring drills that allow you to develop stability control
Breaking Parallel: A Guide to CrossFit Gymnastics and Body Movement on Amazon.com
Free+Style: Maximize Sport and Life Performance with Four Basic Movements, By Carl Paoli and Anthony Sherbondy
Carl Paoli has over 15 years of training as an elite gymnast and over a decade of coaching. However, he didn’t write this book about gymnastics, CrossFit, or any specific program for that matter. What he does is explains how he himself studies and teaches human movement.
Paoli and Sherbondy show you how to:
- Turn on and trust your intuition about movement
- Use tools that help optimize imperfect movement
- Use Carl Paoli’s movement framework to create roadmaps for your physical success
Free+Style: Maximize Sport and Life Performance with Four Basic Movements on Amazon.com
Training for the CrossFit Games: A Year of Programming used to train Julie Foucher, The 2nd Fittest Woman on Earth, By Douglas Chapman
This book is a great resource. It’s the actual training regimen HyperFit USA (CrossFit Ann Arbor) used to train Julie Foucher and other athletes for the 2012 Games. It claims to have many purposes but the take-away is that it’s literally HyperFit’s journal.
The book tells how the gym was operated including the classes that were done. They didn’t leave anything out, nor did they edit anything. What you’ll read is exactly what they did to train and prepare athletes for the Games.
TRAINING FOR THE CROSSFIT GAMES: A Year of Programming used to train Julie Foucher on Amazon.com
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So there you have it. Our recommended list of books that cover everything from what CrossFit is to exercise techniques.
Leave us a comment below and let us know what your favorite CrossFit books are, and/ or if you have read any of the books on the list.
Happy reading.
