Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Are you struggling to develop an exercise program? Having trouble sticking with your current program? Dissatisfied with the results you're seeing-or not seeing? Your Personal Trainer gives you customized, expert training advice that will help you get the results you want. And it does so at a fraction of the cost of hiring your own trainer!

Douglas Brooks-one of the top personal trainers in the United States-shares his no-nonsense, results-oriented approach to training. He offers no quick fixes, but what he does offer are proven effective exercise programs and techniques similar to those he prescribes to his clients every day.

Your Personal Trainer provides individually tailored programs, structured workouts, and planned training cycles, all featuring the latest exercise information available to help you achieve your fitness goals. Here's just a sampling of the many features you'll find:

- Guidelines for scheduling your workouts

- Recommended stretches and strength exercises

- Interval training models

- Warm-up and cool-down techniques

- Advice on cross-training

- Nutrition tips

- Hints for building in rest and recovery

- Self-tests for tracking your progress

Through it all, Brooks will keep you motivated and make your exercise program fun, not drudgery. Regardless of your fitness level, the time-tested techniques in Your Personal Trainer will give you a training advantage and empower you to take control of your fitness and health.

If you're a personal trainer, you too can use Your Personal Trainer to better serve your clients. You'll find state-of-the-art advice on how to build a training regimen around your clients' specific needs, limitations, and goals. Plus, you'll learn Brooks' techniques for motivating clients.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. vii)
• Acknowledgments (p. ix)
• Part I Your Training Essentials
• Chapter 1 Self-Test Your Fitness Level (p. 2)
• Where You've Been (p. 3)
• Where You Are (p. 3)
• Body Composition (p. 5)
• Strength Testing (p. 12)
• Cardiovascular Endurance Testing (p. 17)
• Posture and Flexibility (p. 21)
• What Do You Do With Your Test Results? (p. 24)
• Chapter 2 Set a Planned Course of Action (p. 28)
• Are You Training For Health or Fitness? (p. 29)
• Describe and Record Your Goals (p. 29)
• Balance Your Workouts (p. 33)
• Schedule Your Workouts (p. 34)
• Periodization Made Easy (p. 34)
• Reality Check (p. 46)
• Chapter 3 Target the Right Equipment (p. 48)
• Working Out at the Gym (p. 48)
• Working Out at Home (p. 49)
• Home Equipment Purchases (p. 51)
• Equipment Essentials: The Final Word (p. 60)
• Part II Your Training Components
• Chapter 4 Optimize Your Flexibility (p. 66)
• Benefits of Stretching (p. 67)
• Anatomy and Types of Stretch (p. 69)
• Brooks's Best Way to Stretch (p. 75)
• When to Stretch (p. 79)
• Brooks's Top 15 Stretches (and How To Do Them) (p. 81)
• Chapter 5 Strengthen Your Heart (p. 97)
• Benefits of Aerobic Training (p. 99)
• How the Aerobic System Works (p. 100)
• Warming Up and Cooling Down (p. 103)
• Training Aerobically (p. 107)
• Gauging Your Efforts (p. 113)
• The Top Aerobic Exercise (p. 120)
• Chapter 6 Push Your Anaerobic Limits (p. 122)
• Benefits of Interval Training (p. 122)
• Ins and Outs of Interval Training (p. 123)
• Maximizing Fat and Calorie Burning (p. 125)
• Top Interval Training Models (p. 127)
• Chapter 7 Lift for Strength and Muscle Definition (p. 134)
• What Strength Training Is, and Isn't (p. 134)
• Benefits of Strength Training (p. 135)
• Putting Strength Training Myths To Rest (p. 138)
• Planning Your Strength Program (p. 141)
• Lifting Technique (p. 146)
• Brooks's Top 15 Strength Exercises (and How To Do Them) (p. 147)
• Chapter 8 Cross-Train for Variety (and Results!) (p. 164)
• Types of Cross-Training (p. 165)
• Getting Started in Cross-Training (p. 166)
• Using Cross-Training (p. 167)
• Targeted Cross-Training (p. 168)
• Sample Cross-Training Plan (p. 168)
• Chapter 9 Build in Rest and Recovery (p. 170)
• Repairing and Building Your Body (p. 171)
• Types of Active Recovery (p. 171)
• Avoiding Overtraining (p. 172)
• Identifying Overtraining (p. 173)
• Recovering from Overtraining (p. 175)
• Knowing When to Quit (p. 175)
• Last Words on Overtraining (p. 177)
• Chapter 10 Fuel Your Workouts (p. 178)
• Eating for Exercise (p. 178)
• Computing Your Calories (p. 179)
• Knowing What to Eat (p. 185)
• How to Eat Before, During, and After Workouts (p. 189)
• Monitoring Your Eating Habits (p. 196)
• Part III Your Training Programs
• Chapter 11 Muscle Endurance and Maximum Strength (p. 200)
• Overview of the Plan (p. 200)
• Do High Repetitions Work? (p. 204)
• Designing Strength Programs That Work (p. 207)
• Making the Most of Your Strength Workouts (p. 209)
• Chapter 12 High-Intensity Strength Training (p. 210)
• Breakdown Training (p. 211)
• Pyramid Training (p. 211)
• Assisted Training or Forced Reps (p. 212)
• Negative Training (p. 212)
• Super Slow Training (p. 212)
• Super Set Training (p. 213)
• The High-Intensity Training Edge (p. 214)
• Chapter 13 Peak to Compete (p. 215)
• Team and Individual Anaerobic Sports (p. 216)
• Sport Conditioning Circuit (p. 216)
• Endurance Sport Training (p. 222)
• Chapter 14 Design Your Own Program (p. 226)
• Determining Your Goals (p. 226)
• Ten Steps to Program Design (p. 228)
• Part IV Your Training Targets
• Chapter 15 Track Your Progress (p. 234)
• Reassessing Your Fitness Level (p. 234)
• Week-at-a-Glance Workout Log (p. 237)
• Calculating Your Percent Improvement (p. 238)
• How to Maintain Your Fitness Gains (p. 240)
• Regaining Fitness (p. 244)
• Taking Your Fitness to the Next Level (p. 245)
• Appendix (p. 247)
• Index (p. 249)
• About the Author (p. 253)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Known as the trainer's trainer, Douglas Brooks is one of the premier personal trainers in the United States. He's widely recognized through his numerous appearances on home shopping networks, infomercials, the Cable Health Club Network, and fitness videos. An ACE-certified personal trainer since 1983, Brooks is also the fitness training director at Snowcreek Resort and Athletic Club and the co-owner of Moves International, a provider of educational resources, continuing education, and live workshops for fitness professionals.

Brooks has also authored Going Solo: The Art of Personal Training -a landmark publication written during personal training's infancy-and Program Design for Personal Trainers: Bridging Theory Into Application , as well as numerous educational manuals. He is active in many professional organizations, including IDEA-The Health and Fitness Source, the International Sports Trainers Association, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He also conducts lectures and workshops throughout the United States and internationally on the topics of personal training, strength training, kinesiology, and exercise physiology.

Brooks enjoys fitness activities of all kinds. He is a competitive tennis player, marathoner, Ironman triathlete, alpine and nordic skier, in-line skater, rock climber, and mountaineer. He holds a master's degree in exercise physiology from Central Michigan University. Brooks, his wife, Candice, and their two sons live in Mammoth Lakes, California.