The 8 Fitness-Related Books You Need to Read

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You’ve probably never gotten the urge to read about fitness- it’s something you do, not read about, right? But I’m hoping this book list will change that!

As a strength coach, I obviously think and read a lot about fitness. Some of the books I read are for growing my coaching skills (don’t worry, I’m not recommending those ones!), but most of them are for continuing to learn and shape my views on the fitness industry and improve my own fitness mindset. Plus I love being able to recommend books to people that I think will help them change their perspective on fitness!

If you’ve been in my world for any amount of time, you know I’m all about:

• inclusive fitness and helping to create fitness spaces where people feel like they belong
• strength for ALL bodies
• anti-diet culture and anti-toxic fitness culture
• the autonomy to choose what’s best for your unique body
• weight neutrality, or focusing on what your body can do instead of what it looks like
• helping people build a more positive relationship with exercise instead of one based on shame and punishment

Some my top goals as a coach are to help you feel good about the workouts you’re doing, see strength results in your day-to-day life, and *gasp* maybe even start to enjoy exercise!

The Content You’re Consuming

Something I talk about a lot is that to change your relationship with exercise/movement/your body, you need to audit what content you’re consuming. This includes news, social media accounts you follow, and… the books you read! If you’re constantly reading things that make you feel bad about your body or like you need to fix yourself, then you’re more likely to stay stuck in the same thought patterns. Most people have a poor relationship with exercise because of bad past experiences or things they’ve heard from others over the course of many years. By switching up what you’re reading and getting exposed to new ideas, you can start to make some major changes with your fitness relationship!

The following are fitness-related books that will help you change how you think about exercise and movement. I’ve read and love each of these books- they’ve all become an important part of my library!

The 8 Fitness-Related Books You Need to Read

Anti-Diet Culture Books

The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love

I LOVED listening to this book (read by the author herself)! The Body Is Not an Apology is about finding radical self-love for your body, which is different than self-esteem or self-confidence. Throughout the book, Sonya weaves together stories about her own life as well as other sources to show what a life looks like when you walk away from body shame. In each chapter, there are Radical Reflections and Unapologetic Inquiries that help you apply the topics to your own life and thoughts.

This book isn’t about fluffy self-help exercises. It’s a deep dive into your past, systemic issues of the world, and actual practice that leads you toward radical self-love. The last chapter of the book is a toolkit for radical self-love. It gives you actionable steps to change your relationship with your body.

“We are saddled with body shame because it is an age-old system whose roots and pockets are deep. Body shame flourishes in our world because profit and power depend on it.”

Bookshop | Amazon | Sonya Renee Taylor

More Than a Body: Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament

I think this book, along with the one above, should be required reading for every teen and young adult. Even though the book is targeted toward women, there are major takeaways for anyone affected by objectification and diet culture (literally everyone!). They use the analogy of moving between “the waters of objectification” and “More Than a Body Beach.” Lindsay and Lexie talk about their personal struggles with body image and research that shows the destructive results of a society that focus on how a body looks above all else.

“Self-objectification is the invisible prison of picturing yourself being looked at instead of just fully living.”

They spend a lot of time talking about what media you consume (creating a better body image environment), and how you internalize those messages even from a young age. Another chapter discusses how you can support others and small actions you can take to lift up others and see others as allies instead of competition.

Bookshop | Amazon | Lindsay Kite, PhD & Lexie Kite, PhD

The Body Liberation Project: How Understanding Racism and Diet Culture Helps Cultivate Joy and Build Collective Freedom

Chrissy King is a pillar of the fitness community! Her book is a personal look at the fitness industry, racism, and diet culture. She starts by talking about the differences between body positivity, body neutrality, and body liberation. After, the book moves to the lies of diet culture and decolonizing our thoughts about our bodies.

One of the things I love most about this book is that she talks about how you experience harm, but also how you might be perpetuating diet culture and harming others. It’s a tough look at white supremacy and asks you to question your own thoughts and actions. Throughout the book, there are “From Principle to Practice” sections full of questions to help you process the book content and start to make changes in your own life.

Bookshop | Amazon | Chrissy King

Fitness Mindset Books

I Know I Should Exercise, But…: 44 Reasons We Don’t Move and How to Get Over Them

I love how this book is structured! The 44 reasons people resist exercise are broken up into several themes. There are a WIDE range of reasons covered, from “I am great at starting exercise programs, but I never stick with them.” to “I keep comparing myself to people in my exercise class.” to “My dog won’t go on a walk with me.”

This biggest theme of the book is building psychological flexibility, which is “our ability to stay present, connect with what matters to us, and make conscious, value-driven choices, even in the face of inner obstacles.” Katy and Diana discuss how finding your values and making value-aligned decisions is a huge part of moving past the reasons people resist exercise.

What makes this book magic is the combination of Katy’s insights as a biomechanist who’s been helping people move for decades and Diana’s experience as a clinical psychologist. Each reason is covered from a mindset angle and a practical angle with many different concrete takeaways.

Bookshop | Amazon | Katy Bowman & Dr. Diana Hill

No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness

No Sweat is heavy into the mindset side of fitness! I love how it lays out a practical way to change your fitness mindset and find a version of exercise you enjoy. Michelle talks about how the fitness industry doesn’t help support people with a long-term movement plan. Then she introduces her MAPS system: Meaning, Awareness, Permission, and Strategy. It covers topics like taking ownership of your exercise, what “counts” as exercise, viewing exercise as self-care, and turning movement into a sustainable part of your life.

This book does a true mindset overhaul about how you think about exercise and has a bunch of real world evidence that the strategies work. If you want studied and practical strategies, this is the book for you!

Bookshop | Amazon | Michelle Segar, PhD

A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting

The magic of A Physical Education is following Casey’s fitness journey. She starts out by trying weightlifting because she thought it would help her lose more weight, but ends up loving it and the feeling of being strong regardless of body size.

I really enjoyed how this book was a combo of her personal story, the technical side of strength training, and the history of strength in the United States. Her small wins and lessons about learning to lift weights brought me back to when I was learning similar things at my first gym in Colorado. It’s easy to identify with her struggles, like feeling intimidated in the gym or failing at an exercise.

Bookshop | Amazon | Casey Johnston

Exercises for You

Movement for Every Body: An Inclusive Fitness Guide for Better Movement

Movement for Every Body doesn’t just throw exercises at you, it helps you understand your body! There are four sections that walk you through finding your values, assessing how your body feels, exploring how and why you move, and enjoying movement.

Each section has questions, tips, and movements shown by people with different bodies. Each movement has multiple different options, so you can choose which one feels most comfortable for you. Marcia’s experience in fitness, physical therapy, and with chronic illness combine to make this book a must-have on every bookshelf. I love the care put into discussing how people with all abilities can move in a way that’s comfortable for them.

Bookshop | Amazon | Dr. Marcia Dernie

Fitness for Everyone: 50 Exercises for Every Type of Body

Fitness for Everyone is an amazing walkthrough of common exercises and stretches you can use in your workouts! The intro has instructions about how to get started and what you need, then each movement is demonstrated over the following pages. I love all the pictures that clearly show each exercise as well as the diversity of the people performing the exercises. For each exercise, they show the main exercise, how to do it, and multiple variations you can use.

This book is perfect if you want guidance and exercises ideas, especially for home workouts. It really hits home how exercising and building strength can be accessible for everyone.

Bookshop | Amazon | Louise Green

On my list but I haven’t had the chance to read yet:

• Fitness for Every Body: Strong, Confident, and Empowered at Any Size by Meg Boggs
• Healthy as F*ck: The Habits You Need to Get Lean, Stay Healthy, and Kick Ass at Life by Oonagh Duncan
• “You Just Need to Lose Weight”: And 19 Other Myths About Fat People by Aubrey Gordon
• American Detox: The Myth of Wellness and How We Can Truly Heal by Kerri Kelly
• Lifting Heavy Things: Healing Trauma One Rep at a Time by Laura Khoudari

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