The 360 Degree Leader – John Maxwell
You don’t have to be in a leadership position in order to be a great leader. In this book, John Maxwell educates us on how organizations can thrive by creating a culture of leadership from the top down, from the bottom up, as well as laterally.
American Sniper – Chris Kyle
I read this book while taking a break from educational reads and still managed to learn a lot of great lessons. This was an incredibly humbling read that showed time and time again the importance of teamwork, selflessness, preparation, and communication.
Anatomy for Runners – Jay Dicharry
A lot happens when we go for a run. Anatomy for Runners breaks down how to assess running mechanics, how to screen for dysfunctions that may be leading to mechanical breakdowns, and how to fix these dysfunctions through corrective exercise.
Anatomy Trains – Thomas Myers
Thomas Myers does an incredible job of helping us to understand what the fascial system is and how our fascial lines contribute to our posture and efficiency with movement. This is a higher level read but I truly believe this is the future of how we view human movement.
Atomic Habits – James Clear
It is easy to get so caught up in the outcome that we forget all about the importance of the process. James Clear offers some great advice on how to make small changes in our daily lives that have a profound impact on achieving our goals.
Back Mechanic – Stuart McGill
Low back pain is one of the most commonly reported pain complaints in the United States. Stuart McGill is a leading researcher in spinal disorders and does a great job of simplifying how we can assess and treat individuals with back pain complaints.
Becoming a Supple Leopard – Kelly Starrett
A pioneer in taking a movement-based approach to training and rehabilitation, Kelly Starrett breaks down how to classify individuals by their movement patterns as well as how to optimize performance through exercise specific to them.
Blink – Malcolm Gladwell
Some of the most important decisions we make happen in the blink of eye. Malcolm Gladwell does a phenomenal job of illustrating the positives and negatives of our ability to make quick decisions when provided with only a limited amount of information.
Born to Walk – James Earls
If you enjoyed Anatomy Trains, I highly recommend checking this one out. This booked is packed with research illustrating to us how our body moves at a segmental and global level to create efficient movement by utilizing our fascial system.
Building a StoryBrand – Donald Miller
Many companies spend millions on marketing yet still fail to get their point across. Donald Miller does an exceptional job of providing the reader with a step-by-step guide to clarifying their message. Whether you are operating a social media account, designing a website, or running a business, this is a very useful read.
Can’t Hurt Me – David Goggins
David Goggins is often referred to as the hardest man alive. In this book, he takes you through his life struggles and how he was able to become mentally tough enough to turn around his life and become a Navy Seal, along with countless other successes.
Chop Wood Carry Water – Joshua Medcalf
This is a great read for all ages and backgrounds. Joshua Medcalf uses short stories to chronicle the journey of a young man’s lifelong goal of becoming a samurai warrior and the life lessons that he learns along the way.
Crushing It! – Gary Vaynerchuk
This is the first book of Gary Vee’s that I’ve read and I am a big fan of his writing style. In a world that is constantly chasing overnight success, this was a nice reminder of the importance of consistency, persistence, and patience when pursuing your goals.
Conscious Coaching – Brett Bartholomew
You can’t coach everyone the same way. In Conscious Coach, Brett Bartholomew teaches us how understand different personality types in order to become a better communicator and create better rapport with those around you.
David and Goliath – Malcolm Gladwell
Goliath was blind and David didn’t play by the rules. “The powerful are not as powerful as they seem – nor the weak as weak.” When we view our challenges through a different lens, we could very well give ourselves a competitive advantage.
Ego is the Enemy – Ryan Holiday
This was the first book I read after graduating physical therapy school and it is still one of my favorites. Ryan Holiday does an incredible job of showing us how ego can get in the way of success and, conversely, how letting go of your ego can lead to personal and organizational success.
Extreme Ownership – Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
Jocko Willink and Leif Babin use the lessons they learned from their Navy Seal careers to showcase how taking ownership of your actions, creating action plans, and encouraging leadership throughout the organization is beneficial for all walks of life.
Fascia Training – Bill Parisi
This is a great introductory book into understanding the fascial system. Bill Parisi interviews Thomas Myers, Stuart McGill, and Todd Wright, among others, to showcase how experts in the field are using their understanding of the fascial system to rehabilitate and train their clients.
Getting to Neutral – Trevor Moawad
In his first book, It Takes What It Takes, Trevor Moawad discussed the importance avoiding negative thoughts. In his second book, he gives us a look into his very personal battle with cancer where he is forced to apply all the lessons he's taught throughout his professional career.
Give and Take – Adam Grant
You don’t need betray those around you to climb to the top. In Give and Take, Adam Grant tells the stories of some of the most successful people in their fields and how they were able to build up those around them along their journey.
Grit – Angela Duckworth
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard, and this book proves it. Angela Duckworth dives into the research on being persistent and shows us that it takes more than just brains and raw talent to be successful.
Iced! – Gary Reinl
Icing has long been a popular modality in the sports medicine world for a long time, but do we truely understand why we use it? Gary Reinl walks us through years of research and experience to help us to better understand when icing is appropriate and what alternatives may work better.
It Takes What It Takes – Trevor Moawad
This is hands down my favorite mental conditioning book. Trevor Moawad has worked with some of the most successful athletes and sports organizations around and he gives them all the same advice: be neutral.
Legacy – James Kerr
The All Blacks are one of the most successful franchises in all of sports. This book is a crash course on how they were able to build and sustain a winning culture that allow them to cement their rightful place in history.
Lone Survivor – Marcus Luttrell
I get annoyed when people say the book was better than the movie, but this book gives details about the heroic actions of the men involved in Operation Red Wings that the movie didn’t have the time to portray. This is a humbling read.
The Mamba Mentality – Kobe Bryant
When one of the best to ever do something writes a book explaining how they did it, I’m going to read it every time. In this book Kobe Bryant gives us a glimpse into how his competitive stamina and attention to detail earned him a special place in basketball history.
Movement – Grey Cook
I would highly recommend all physical therapists read this upon graduation. Physical therapy school does a great job of teaching how the body works at a segmental level. In this book, Grey Cook teaches us how to see movement on a more global level.
No Time for Spectators – Martin Dempsey
I really enjoyed listening to the first-hand accounts of the life experiences of General Martin Dempsey. This book did a great job of showing how attention to detail, surrounding yourself with good people, and working hard where you’re at can lead to a lifetime full of success.
Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
When hard work meets opportunity, outliers are born. Malcolm Gladwell examines some of the highest achievers of our time and illustrates how an individual’s upbringing plays an important role in who they become and what they are able to accomplish.
Passion Paradox – Brad Stulburg & Steve Magness
Finding your passion is important, but not knowing how to manage your passion can be extremely dangerous. The Passion Paradox shows us the good and the bad when it comes to being passionate about a job, person, or anything else in life.
Range – David Epstein
In a world that encourages specialization, generalists may carry an advantage over their competition. David Epstein breaks down why being a specialist can actually work against you and why being a jack-of-all-trades allows creativity and innovation to occur.
Rebuilding Milo – Aaron Horschig
This book is exactly what the fitness industry needed. Dr. Horschig provides a step-by-step guide to treating aches and pains before they become debilitating injuries. Whether you are a competitive weightlifter, physical therapist or weekend warrior, this book is for you.
The Sports Gene – David Epstein
This is one of the most eye-opening books I’ve ever read. In a world that is constantly chasing superstar status, there are a lot of factors at play. This book shows how our parents, environment, work ethic, trainability, and ancestry all play important roles in our quest to be elite.
The Squat Bible – Aaron Horschig
Aaron Horschig has a gift for taking complex ideas and simplifying them into a language that everyone can understand. The Squat Bible shows us how the squat can be used not only as a training exercise but also as a screening tool to uncover movement faults.
Talking to Strangers – Malcolm Gladwell
We may not be as gifted as we think when it comes to talking to people we don’t know. In this book, Malcolm Gladwell shows us how our inability to communicate with strangers can lead to conflict and misunderstanding that seriously impacts the world we live in.
Think Again – Adam Grant
“Because that’s the way we’ve always done it,” should never be a sufficient response to why we do things the way we do. In Think Again, Adam Grant investigates some of the issues with being stuck in our ways and illustrates how challenging our current beliefs can lead to innovation and progress.
Turn the Ship Around - David Marquet
Empowering employees at every level to be a leader can help to create a culture of accountability and pride. In this book, we learn how Captain David Marquet and his crew transformed one of the worst submarines in the fleet into one of the best.
Upstream – Dan Heath
A lot of systems dedicate exorbitant amounts of energy to solving problems after they have occurred. Upstream shows us how preventing problems from occurring in the first place can save time and money while improving customer and employee satisfaction.
Willpower Doesn’t Work – Benjamin Hardy
We are the product of our surroundings. While discipline is important, it is much more effective to change our environment when attempting to make a change either personally or professionally. Creating an enriched environment can help to foster growth by limiting distractions and make decision making easy.