Home || Bio || Forms || BLOG
Ed Brandt, Certified Personal Trainer • 242-5518 ed@edbrandt.com
Links and stuff
If you want up-to-date fitness information, I highly recommend the Amercing Council on Exercise (ACE), acefitness.org, one of my certifying organizations. There is a beginning exercise library and some guides on the proper use of stability balls, strength bands and other equipment.

My favorite part is the Ace Fit Facts, flyers that explain fitness concepts, dispel fitness myths and help you with your journey toward health. Check out the list of topics here.

Now, I don't want to sound like a shill for corporate America, but I do like the Nike Go program. I did some workshops with them, and I believe their approach of instilling love of exercise through play can be an important foundation to prevent obesity in childhood. The adults had a good time, too!
Books and videos
Just to be clear, I don't get kickbacks for any of these suggestions (though if the authors want to kick in some scratch, I wouldn't say no). As a fitness professional, I see a lot of bad books (not to mention crappy gimmicks, particularly for flat, rock hard abs). Here are a few books I've read lately that I highly recommend:

Ultimate Fitness: The Quest for Truth about Health and Exercise by Gina Kolata
Kolata is the Science Editor for the New York Times, and this book does a great job of debunking some of the most pervasive myths in fitness. She explores the "220-age" myth, the question of whether mass amounts of protein lead to increased muscle mass (it doesn't) and more.

Muscle Mechanics by Everett Aaberg
Even though almost no one bought it, this is the required book for my Advanced Weight Training class at UAA. After reading literally dozens of bad books, I was thrilled to find this one. It has some high-level scientific discussions about muscle function, but don't be afraid. Skip that part (I did) and get to the illustrated exercises, with superimposed muscle drawings and excellent descriptions of safe, functional exercises. Totally worth the $20.

Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook by Nancy Clark
Clear and concise, yet very detailed, Clark's book is well-known for as a the bible of sports nutrition. "Regular" people (we're all athletes, after all) can benefit from reading this book as well. I always recommend this book to my thinner clients who want to gain weight safely. I'm also a huge fan of Clark's discussion on protein.

Full-Body Flexibility by Jay Blahnik
Blahnik is a well-known fitness guru and researcher who has written a fully-illustrated book that any fitness enthusiast can use. Blahnik is the first guy I recall who recommends stretching after your workout instead of before, and he explains clearly why that's important.