Practical Guide to Exercise Physiology

Science comes to life with Practical Guide to Exercise Physiology, Second Edition. Taking an application-based approach, supported by vivid medical illustrations, this book provides students and health and fitness professionals with a simple and straightforward way to learn the fundamentals of human physiology, metabolism, and nutrition.

Intricate physiological processes responsible for how the body responds and adapts to physical activity are described in an accessible manner so that readers can easily select appropriate training programs and explain them to others. Practical Guide to Exercise Physiology, Second Edition, is complemented by medical artwork that puts these complex systems into a digestible visual context. These systems are then applied to real-world practice and training principles that are beneficial to specific body systems to achieve the desired results.

Part I of Practical Guide to Exercise Physiology, Second Edition, reviews human physiology fundamentals, including muscles and muscle adaptation, bioenergetics, and the cardiorespiratory system. Part II applies these scientific concepts to training programs designed for specific fitness goals. These goals include weight loss and improvements in strength and muscle mass, speed and power, and aerobic endurance. Part III of the text outlines special considerations for training with pregnant women and children as well as older adults. This part also includes exercise adjustments for changes in temperature and altitude.

The second edition of Practical Guide to Exercise Physiology features new content on trending fitness concepts such as HIIT, periodization, and detraining. The text also provides several useful tools for practical application:

• Fun facts and sidebars examine current topics and engage readers with additional content about the human body’s response to training.
• At the end of each chapter, summary statements and review questions highlight essential information.
• Performance Nutrition Spotlights offer advice and tips on using nutrition to support adaptations and improve performance.
• The Index of Common Questions From Clients section collects the most common inquiries from clients and points to the corresponding chapter where each of those topics is covered, helping readers to quickly access the information.

Practical Guide to Exercise Physiology, Second Edition, contains all the information students and fitness professionals need to understand the connection between physiology and exercise. Readers will gain confidence in designing exercise programs for various populations and in their ability to explain to clients how each exercise and movement will help them achieve their goals.

Earn continuing education credits/units! A continuing education exam that uses this book is also available. It may be purchased separately or as part of a package that includes both the book and exam.

Bob Murray, PhD, FACSM, was a cofounder of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) and served as its director from 1985 to 2008. Murray oversaw a broad program of GSSI- and university-based research in exercise science and sport nutrition that set industry standards and consumer expectations for science-based product efficacy.

A native of Pittsburgh, Murray earned his BS and MEd degrees in physical education at Slippery Rock University. He was an assistant professor of physical education and head swimming coach at Oswego State University from 1974 to 1977 before earning his PhD in exercise physiology from Ohio State University. He was an assistant and associate professor of physical education at Boise State University from 1980 to 1985 before relocating to Chicago to begin work with Gatorade. In 2008, Murray founded Sports Science Insights LLC, a consulting group that helps clients with projects in exercise science and sports nutrition. An author of numerous publications in scientific texts and journals, and an invited speaker at professional meetings worldwide, Murray is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and an honorary member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Bob and his wife Linda live in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

W. Larry Kenney, PhD, FACSM, FAPS, is the Marie Underhill Noll Chair in Human Performance and a professor of physiology and kinesiology at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Kenney was awarded the prestigious Faculty Scholar Medal by Penn State for his research contributions. He has published more than 220 journal articles and dozens of book chapters on the topic of human responses to exercise, heat and cold stress, and dehydration as well as the biophysics of heat exchange between humans and the environment. He was continuously funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1986 through 2015, one of the longest-running R01 grants. Over the years, he has mentored 38 MS or PhD students along with 8 postdoctoral fellows and numerous undergraduate scholars.
 
Dr. Kenney is the primary author of Physiology of Sport and Exercise, a best-selling textbook in exercise physiology, now in its seventh edition; it has now been translated into 12 languages. He served as president of the American College of Sports Medicine from 2003 to 2004 and received the Citation Award from that organization in 2008. He is also a fellow of the American Physiological Society and was presented with the Adolph Distinguished Lectureship Award by that organization in 2017. He is the former chair of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute and serves on many scientific advisory panels, including Nike’s Science Advisory Board.