The Future of Fitness (Books to Read)

This past weekend I had the awesome opportunity to attend Perform Better's Meeting of the Minds, a seminar in which the speakers gazed into their personal crystal ball to predict the future of many different fitness subtopics.  From nutrition to stretching, programming on one leg to two, no stone was left unturned.  Some of the newer technology used by professional athletes and clients can be found in an article HERE.  In addition, many presenters mentioned psychology, organization and life-optimization as topics that will play a large role in the future. 

For this article, I decided to highlight the books that were highly recommended at the conference, both by presenters and attendees.  Let's get going!

• A Whole New Mind, by Daniel H. Pink
  
• Drive, also by Daniel H. Pink
• Mindset, by Carol S. Dweck (I'm already halfway through this one - loving it!)
• Switch, by Chip and Dan Heath
• The Power of Less, by Leo Babauta 
• Crucial Conversations, by Kerry Patterson and others
• The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
• Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
• Self Improvement 101 by John C Maxwell
• Ultimate Warrior Workouts by Martin Rooney
• Creating Magic by Lee Cockerell
• Onward by Howard Schultz (Starbucks CEO)

If you notice, there's a huge theme here (of which I agree with):  Personal Trainers, Nutritionists, Strength Coaches and Therapists all are starting to look more towards the mental power that each individual has.  Harnessing that mental and psychological power yields far greater results than treating each person as just a physical being, and ignoring the mental side of things may hurry your exit from the health and fitness business.
 Myself, I believe that motivation is similar to showering: it needs to be done daily (not an original quote, but I believe it).  I love reading and studying how to better my craft, but I also believe that if I am a better, more complete person, inside and out, then I have more to offer my business, my family, friends and network.

Next, we'll look at some of the other themes from this weekend, including actual highlights from lectures and presentations.

Until then,

Coach Kev