Encyclopedia of Exercise Anatomy

[Review of hardcover edition: ] [starred review] Fitness magazine editor and national bodybuilding champion Liebman’s no-nonsense title goes back to the basics, educating users on how to do specific exercises, illustrating in anatomical sketches how the body is affected by them, and listing which exercises best prepare the body for various sports. Part 1 offers general comments and tips on exercise and nutrition as well as large-format computer-generated images (CGI) of the human body with its muscles labeled. The other sections of the book show exercises and stretches in a spread each, with one page offering a photo-illustrated how-to, and the opposite page featuring a CGI of the body at work with the relevant muscles highlighted. Most helpful is the segment of workouts, with instructions for two routines each for beginner, intermediate, and advanced practitioners who want to focus on a particular part of the body or prepare for a particular sport. The sports-specific entries ready readers for common pastimes such as baseball, cycling, and various martial arts but also for sports such as archery, hurling, and water polo. Closing the book are glossaries of English and Latin terms. VERDICT This useful title, which will also work well as a circulating item, presents that something extra for fitness enthusiasts who want to become serious about their conditioning.– (10/15/2014)

Hollis Lance Liebman has been a fitness magazine editor and national bodybuilding champion. Currently a Los Angeles resident, Hollis has worked with some of Hollywood’s elite, earning rave reviews.