General Exercise, Nutrition, weightlifting canon/booklist?

[lotsatiarma]

Hey everyone,

I'm new to the forum and to exercising in general, but I've been reading up on weightlifting and nutrition. This topic doesn't exactly belong in this category, but I couldn't find a suitable place to put it. (My focus would be weightlifting.. so why not try it here.)

I try to ask experienced lifters and personal trainers about book recommendations, but haven't had any answers besides the textbooks the trainers studied for their certification with. I'm not really sure where to start.. random books and articles can disagree with each other and they are not very universal(usually cater to a certain group). My goal is really just for general well-being and exercise with proper weightlifting, aerobics, and nutrition like most people.. However- I'd like to really get in depth with the field and know what the professionals know (I cant afford a trainer, so why not know what they know). I'd like to know any resources you guys have found that have been proven to be universally accurate and helpful that provide a good foundation of knowledge. I figure.. after I create this foundation, I can get started and learn more about myself and my goals.. So then the books which are more specialized will be able to be utilized effectively.

To start off, I have here a list of books that some of the various programs use for certification or are recommended by that company:

ACSM

ACSM's Certification Review
ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription

NSCA

NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training
NSCA's Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning-2nd Edition

ACE

ACE Personal Trainer Manual: The Resource for Fitness Professional
A Fitness Professional’s Guide to Musculoskeletal Anatomy and Human Movement
ACE's Practical Guide to Functional Anatomy
Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant Manual

Optional Guides (on their websites)

Strength Training Anatomy-2nd Edition
Exercise Physiology
Stretching, 20th Anniversary
The Basics of Strength Training 2nd Edition
Designing Resistance Training Programs - 3rd Edition

The certification textbooks are sure to have sections inside I wont be able to use... but I think it may be the best source for a reliable introduction and base for starting up. Well.. that was a long post- forgive me ;/

So.. whadda ya guys think?

 

[LeiYunFat]

That's quite a list. If you learn it all, it will get you very far in terms of educating yourself on this stuff.

Personally I read all my stuff online. Sites like T-Nation.com have articles written by a lot of the foremost experts in the field. You can later read up more on what these experts have written, as most of them have their own respective sites. T-Nation.com is based in bodybuilding, so they have a lot of nutrition articles as well. Articles on elitefts.com can get very in depth and I am starting to perfer their articles to what I've been reading on T-Nation, because I feel like it's more about what I'm doing. Elitefts is weight lifting, with an emphasis on strength sports and power lifting.

I avoid aerobics like the plague