The Top 10 Best Books for Personal Trainers

The personal training profession is constantly evolving. Hence, if you want to stay ahead of the pack in this competitive industry, you need to keep up with the latest trends and keep learning.

And, one of the best ways of keeping yourself updated with the changing trends in the personal training field is by reading books that are somehow geared towards building your personal training business. These books will not only help to keep you updated but they will also boost your personal training knowledge, making you a better personal trainer.

In this article, we’ve compiled a list of the 10 best books for personal trainers. Whether you have been a personal trainer for ten years or you’ve just launched your personal training career, these books will go a long way in enhancing your personal training knowledge and skills.

1. Secrets of Successful Program Design – Alwyn Cosgrove and Craig Rasmussen

Designing workout programs comes naturally for experienced personal trainers. But, if you are starting out, you may experience some challenges. And this is where this Secrets of Successful Program Design comes in. It will help you to come up with effective workout programs, which will help your clients to achieve their health and fitness goals.

The authors of this book are highly experienced, fitness professionals. Alwyn has worked with hundreds of athletes drawn from different parts of the globe. He also runs the Results Fitness University, based in Santa Clarita, California. He also writes fitness-related articles for notable publications like Bodybuilding.com, and Men’s Health, among others.

As for Craig Rasmussen, he holds the role of head coach and powerlifting specialist at the same institution. He also has decades of hands-on experience in personal training. With this book, you are getting invaluable expertise and knowledge, from two individuals who understand the personal training field in and out.

2. The Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning – Thomas and Earle

If you are a personal trainer who specializes in strength training and conditioning, then this book is a must-read. It’s without one of the best books for personal trainers in this niche. It covers all the bases, thus providing you with all the information that you need to know about developing optimal workouts.

The Eseentials of Strength Training and Conditioning is divided into five sections. Most of the topics covered in the first section are mainly about strength and condition. They include sports nutrition, sports psychology, biomechanics, sports physiology, biochemistry, endocrinology and anatomy.

In the second section, you will learn more about testing, evaluation and interpretation. The third section covers topics related to stretching and warm-up exercises. You will also see photos of each workout covered in this section, as well as clear-cut guidelines on how to execute each exercise.

Section four delves deeper into conditioning programs while section five covers topics such as risk management in personal training. Simply put, this personal trainer book covers almost everything that you would need to know when it comes to strength training and conditioning.

3. Ignite the Fire – Jonathan Goodman

With an average 4.8 rating out of 5 on Amazon and backed by hundreds of positive customer reviews, there’s no doubt that Ignite the Fire by Jonathan Goodman is one of the best books for personal trainers.

The question is, does it live to expectations? Well, this book for fitness trainers will not disappoint you. It provides you with almost everything you would need to become a professional personal trainer.

While most of the personal training books out there only offer general training and fitness tips, this book goes beyond that and offers advice on how personal trainers can build working relationships with their clients and build successful careers.

If you have been struggling to land personal training clients, then it will be highly advisable to get yourself a copy of this book for personal trainers.

4. Start Your Own Personal Training Business – Ciree Linseman

If you are a personal trainer looking to start out on your own, then this personal trainer textbook comes highly recommended. It’s filled with helpful information that will guide you along the way. While it’s mainly designed for personal trainers who are starting their careers, it’s also ideal for seasoned personal trainers, who are looking for additional income streams.

Start Your Own Personal Training Business also goes a step further and provides great insights from established personal trainers on how to establish client relationships, how to come up with effective fitness marketing plans as well as tips on how to avoid getting burnt out. Simply put, it’s a well-rounded book that every personal trainer should have.

5. Personal Fitness Training: Beyond the Basics – Joe Cannon

Personal Fitness Training is a great resource for personal trainers who are starting their journey. It delves deep into the science behind training and exercise. Besides that, it will help you to apply this science to your personal training clients. The author, Joe Cannon, has years of experience when it comes to helping people from all walks of life transform their lives through working out and fitness.

Also, this personal trainer book will teach you how to build a personal training client base, as well as how to execute various workout routines, among others. It also has an extra topic about rhabdomyolysis, a serious medical condition that may lead to permanent disability, caused by overtraining – a topic that you will not find in most of the personal training books out there.

Without a doubt, Personal Fitness Training remains one of the best books for personal trainers. Therefore, it will be a great resource to add to your personal training books library.

6. Back Mechanic – Stuart McGill

Most people will experience back issues at some point in their life, especially as they grow old. Hence, there’s a high chance that some of your personal training clients may experience this issue. Therefore, it’s important to learn how to handle or train clients who experience back issues. And this is where this book comes in.

In Back Mechanic, you will learn how to come up with workouts and training programs, which will help your clients to maintain an active lifestyle as they recover from back pain.

7. Strength Training Anatomy – Frédéric Delavier

If you prefer reading workout books with pictures and illustrations as opposed to those with plain text, then you will love Strength Training Anatomy. It features beautiful illustrations, designed and drawn by the author.

This personal training textbook features information on how the various muscles work or respond when strength training is taking place. It also delves deeper and provides more information on how parts of the body surrounding the muscles like ligaments, tendons, bones and connective tissues move during strength training.

Without a doubt, this is one of the best books for personal trainers who specialize in strength training. And with more than 600 illustrations, this book covers almost everything that you need to learn when it comes to anatomy and strength training.

8. Practical Programming for Strength Training – Mark and Andy

If you are in the market for a personal training book that clearly defines the difference between training and exercise, then you should check out this book. Designed for personal trainers, this personal trainers book covers the topic of training comprehensively.

It digs deep into the mechanics of training, covering topics like the basic physiology of an amateur to the techniques employed by experienced lifters. Each explanation covered in this book comes with graphics and illustrations, which will help you to understand better.

Renowned as one of the best books for personal trainers, Practical Programming for Strength Training leaves no stone unturned. It even comes with workout programs, for novices, intermediate lifters and advanced lifters. You can then customize these workout programs to suit your clients.

9. International Sports Science Association Fitness: The Complete Guide

If you are looking to acquire the ISSA personal trainer’s certification, then this book will provide you with all the information you need. This personal training certification book can also help to lay the foundation for your personal training career.

ISSA's Complete Guide a wide range of topics related to health and fitness such as training techniques, physiology, anatomy, nutrition and biomechanics. It also touches on first aid, among other topics.

ISSA also frequently runs exclusive offers, so be sure to check out their website to score some good deals.

10. The New Rules of Lifting for Women – Lou Schuler, Cassandra Forsythe and Alwyn Cosgrove

If women form the bulk of your personal training clientele, then it will be highly advisable to read this book. It will provide you with important insights and answer most of the questions that you may have about training women.

This health and fitness textbook is divided into three key sections. The first section mainly talks about helping personal training clients to achieve a healthy body and a toned physique. So, if your personal training clients are after those two goals, then this section will come in handy.

The second section provides insights into nutrition habits and principles. And in the third section, you will learn about resistance training as well as the best exercises for women’s fitness. Overall, The New Rules of Lifting for Women will help you to understand the training struggles that women deal with and help you to come up with effective workout programs that will help them to achieve their health and fitness goals.

11. Wrapping It Up

They say knowledge is power. And this statement also applies in the personal training industry. If you want to keep up with the latest trends in the fitness industry, stay ahead of the pack, become a better personal trainer and enhance your knowledge in fitness marketing, you will need to keep reading. So, grab a couple of these books, build your personal training books library and expand your knowledgebase.