I’ve learned the hard way that—
- Most books that will help you with your health and fitness are not about health and fitness.
- Most books are trash.
Expanding on (2)—most authors are more concerned with padding out the number of pages in their book and stroking their egos than they are concisely and effectively communicating useful information.
I learned the hard way that you shouldn’t finish every book you start. Most books are not worth your time.
This is not to say you shouldn’t read—you should read a lot.
Just don’t read trash.
There are some incredibly useful books out there that can have a massive impact on your life.
Although many of these books aren’t marketed as health and fitness books, they offer invaluable insights into the habits and mindsets that foster a healthier lifestyle.
In the spirit of putting the most valuable information upfront, I’ll first outline the books that I think are most useful—
- Habits: Atomic Habits
- Confidence: The Charisma Myth
- Psychology: Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life
- Personal Development: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- Health: Flexible Dieting
Take Atomic Habits for instance. This book isn’t about the perfect time to drink your protein shake post-workout. It’s a masterclass in consistency—the cornerstone of any successful health and fitness journey.
James Clear, the author, doesn’t just preach about good habits—he provides a blueprint for embedding them into your daily life.
He talks about systems, which are sets of processes aimed at achieving a particular goal. In the context of health and fitness, this is your meal plan and workout routine.
The book teaches you how to dismantle destructive habits (e.g. late night eating) and create positive ones (e.g. jogging), establishing routines that ensure consistent progress over time. The importance of this cannot be overstated.
Most diet and workout plans fail due to a lack of consistency.
Not because people don’t know what’s good for them, or choose the wrong exercises at the gym.(you might have enjoyed that muffin, but didn’t *really* think it was healthy just because it had raisins in it).
By adopting the principles in Atomic Habits, you set yourself up for long-term success by making health and fitness a natural, almost effortless part of your daily routine.
An apt quote from the book—
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
The Charisma Myth might seem a bit left field, but confidence is an underrated part of health and fitness. The journey to a healthier lifestyle is often fraught with challenges and naysayers. You need to have confidence in who you are and the choices you’re making (without being dogmatic. Hard, but possible).
This book equips you with the tools to build and maintain that confidence, to stand up against those who may question or undermine your new lifestyle. It teaches the importance of self-belief and pride in your journey. This is essential because how you perceive yourself impacts how you treat your body and adhere to your fitness goals.
Beyond Order brings a philosopher into the weight room. Anyone who thinks a philosopher has no business in the weight room is not training hard or consistent enough (source).
It’s a shift from the ‘how-tos’ of fitness to the ‘whys’.
Why push for one more rep? Why opt for the water over the soda?
It’s about understanding the mental struggles inherent in the pursuit of physical excellence. This book, particularly through its rule “Work as Hard as You Possibly Can on at Least One Thing and See What Happens,” encapsulates the essence of dedication and commitment necessary for transforming one’s body.
Peterson’s teachings probe the depths of why we set fitness goals and how we muster the inner strength to persist, emphasizing the importance of aligning these goals with our personal values and facing challenges head-on.
Peterson’s approach is not just about achieving physical fitness—it’s about embracing the mental and emotional aspects of the journey. His insights guide us in confronting the challenges and responsibilities that accompany a fitness lifestyle, encouraging us to not only push our physical limits but also cultivate mental resilience and focus.
This holistic view turns fitness into a comprehensive journey of self-improvement, where saying ‘yes’ to health becomes a testament to inner strength and dedication, even amidst life’s temptations and distractions.
In essence, Beyond Order offers a richer, more profound understanding of the fitness journey, making it not just a physical pursuit but a deeply personal and transformative experience.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is more than a guide to personal efficiency—it’s a manual for time management in the pursuit of health.
It’s not just about what you eat or how you work out. It’s about integrating these activities into your daily life without them becoming a burden.
This book helps you prioritize health and fitness amidst your busy schedule, ensuring that you make time for what’s truly important rather than being distracted by the urgent and irrelevant.
And lastly, Flexible Dieting.
Yes, this is a book directly about health and fitness. But it stands out as an oasis of excellence amongst a sea of incompetent grifters and charlatans (and that’s being polite).
Unlike the majority of books on nutrition, you won’t finish the book dumber than when you started it. Your brain cells will remain intact.
Flexible Dieting sets itself apart from the typical nutrition and diet literature through three key distinctions:
- Evidence-Based Approach vs Fads: While many diet books shill unproven fads, Flexible Dieting is firmly rooted in evidence-based practices, providing a reliable alternative in a field often filled with conjecture (there are >50 pages of references).
- Consistency Over Rigidity: The book emphasizes the importance of consistency in dieting, recognizing that overly strict diets often lead to rule-breaking and overeating. It’s summed up well in the book: “the stricter the diet, the more likely the dieter was to break the rules and overeat.”
- Individualization: In a sea of generic “one size fits all” diet plans, Flexible Dieting stands out by advocating for tailored nutritional strategies depending on an individual’s goals and preferences.
But don’t just take my word for it—below is a disgruntled customer who was hoping for another fad diet he could stick to for two weeks, but was rudely shocked by the book’s “science of nutrition”.
I believe these are the best five books you can read on health and fitness.
The first four deal with the most important aspects of health and fitness—habit formation, psychology, and personal development—while Flexible Dieting provides you with the evidence-based health and fitness grounding necessary to apply these principles effectively.
If you read and apply the principles outlined in these books, you can completely transform your body (and life).
Or you can watch another vapid show on Netflix and blame your genetics.
Up to you.