Editors: Senior Editor: Barbara Bushman, PhD; Associate Editors: Rebecca Battista, PhD; Lynda Ransdell, PhD, FACSM; Pamela Swan, PhD, FACSM; and Walter R. Thompson, PhD, FACSM
Publisher: Wolters Kluwers | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins – 627 pages
Book Review by: Nano Khilnani
This product – the fourth edition of The American College of Sports Medicine’s Resources for the Personal Trainer – is an excellent one both from an editorial standpoint as well as in terms of production quality standards.
This latest edition is based on ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription.
It contains significant updates on material from the third edition, expansion of content on special populations and behavior modification, plus a brand new chapter on advanced training options.
The coverage of this 600-plus page book is broad, ranging from an introduction to the profession of personal training to how to run your own business in this field.
There are chapters on anatomy, biomechanics, business basics, client consultation, cardio-respiratory training, coaching techniques, exercise physiology, fitness assessments, kinesiology, legal issues, nutrition, resistance training, risk classification, screening of clients, and other aspects of this business and profession.
With ample full-color photos and well-drawn illustrations printed on top quality semi-gloss paper, this hardbound fourth edition of this popular text provides outstanding value to users, with loads and loads of well-organized, useful information in the area of sports medicine. This book is not just for physicians; it is also written for non-medical professionals, particularly personal trainers.
An immense amount of work has gone into creating this great book. Some 33 experts contributed subject matter for the book’s 21 chapters that were reviewed by 34 other specialists.
A detailed table of contents is provided in it to enable the reader, student, or professional to use this book for study or reference or both. Its 21 chapters are organized into six broad parts. We provide you an overview here:
- Introduction to the Field and Profession of Personal Training
- The Science of Personal Training
- Behavior Modification
- Initial Client Screening
- Developing the Exercise Program
- Business of Personal Training
A typical chapter presents its Objectives, an Introduction, and headings on specific topics with text and data. The chapter is made easier to read and absorb information from, for the student, with charts, data tables, illustrations, maps and photos. At the end of each chapter are a Summary box and a list of References for further study on many related topics.
Four useful appendices are provided after the 21 chapters.
Appendix A: This section provides lists of five primary ACSM certifications along with specifics as to which population each certified instructor serves; his or her eligibility criteria; and the competencies developed by that specialist.
Appendix B: In addition to and continuation of the certification information in the tables in Appendix A, this section (Appendix B) provides a job task analysis (JTA) for each type of certified professional
Appendices C and D respectively provide lists of editors and lists of contributors for the previous two editions (second and third) of ACSM’s Resources for the Personal Trainer.
This is a highly useful and valuable book, and Barbara A. Bushman – the senior editor of this work, and professor in the department of kinesiology at the Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri – has done an admirable job of leading the people and the project that produced this outstanding volume.
Purchases of this edition are able to access online resources such as the full contents of this book, as well as videos on http://thepoint.lww.com/activate. A scratch-off box on the inside front cover provides the access code.
