Complete Guide to Fitness & Health

Here is the ultimate resource for maximizing your exercise and nutrition efforts. In this new edition of ACSM's Complete Guide to Fitness & Health, you have an authoritative reference that allows you to apply research-based guidance to your unique health and fitness needs. With a focus across the life span, this resource shows you how to pursue optimal health and fitness now and throughout the years to come. The American College of Sports Medicine, the largest and most respected sport science and medicine organization in the world, has created this book to bridge the gap between science and the practice of making personal lifestyle choices that promote health. This new edition contains age-specific advice within the framework of the latest research, thus helping you to avoid the lure of fads, unfounded myths, and misinformation.

You will learn these strategies:

• Incorporate the latest guidelines for physical activity and nutrition into your daily routine to improve your fitness and overall health.
• Optimize your weight and increase strength, flexibility, aerobic fitness, and functional fitness.
• Improve health and manage conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression, osteoporosis, arthritis, pregnancy, and Alzheimer’s disease through exercise and nutrition.
• Monitor, evaluate, and tailor your exercise program for optimal results.

Featuring step-by-step instructions and full-color photos for the most effective exercises, sample workouts, practical advice, age-specific physical activity and dietary guidelines, and strategies for incorporating exercise and healthy nutrition choices into even the busiest of lifestyles, ACSM’s Complete Guide to Fitness & Health is a resource that belongs in every fitness enthusiast’s library.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), founded in 1954, is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. With more than 50,000 members and certified professionals worldwide, ACSM is dedicated to improving health through science, education, and medicine. ACSM members work in a range of medical specialties, allied health professions, and scientific disciplines. Members are committed to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of sport-related injuries and the advancement of the science of exercise. The ACSM promotes and integrates scientific research, education, and practical applications of sports medicine and exercise science to maintain and enhance physical performance, fitness, health, and quality of life.

Barbara A. Bushman, PhD, FASCM, is a professor at Missouri State University and a program director and clinical exercise physiologist certified by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). She received her PhD in exercise physiology from the University of Toledo and has teaching experience in identification of health risks, exercise testing and prescription, anatomy, and physiology. Bushman served as senior editor of ACSM’s Resources for the Personal Trainer, Fourth Edition, and a reviewer for ACSM's Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, Women & Health, and ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal. She has been a fellow of the ACSM since 1999, serving on the ACSM Media Referral Network. As an associate editor of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal, Bushman writes the “Wouldn’t You Like to Know” column, which covers a variety of topics in health and fitness.

Bushman is the lead author of Action Plan for Menopause as well as numerous research articles. She maintains a Facebook page focused on health and fitness (Facebook.com/FitnessID). She resides in Strafford, Missouri, with her husband, Tobin. She enjoys walks with her husband and German shepherd. She participates in numerous activities in her leisure time, including running, cycling, hiking, weightlifting, kayaking, and scuba diving.