7 Books Like Periodization Training for Sports

This book is one of the most effective guides to meaningful, lasting change.

James Clear explains how transformation happens through small adjustments practiced consistently over time. His philosophy aligns with a core belief in my own life and work: growth is created by what you do daily, not occasionally.

Clear breaks down the power of systems, discipline, and identity-based habit building. The book proves that success is rarely about dramatic breakthroughs. It is the result of steady, intentional actions that accumulate into extraordinary impact.

Mastering the next right step is the foundation of personal and professional excellence.

Practical programming is a very good introduction to programming and periodization methods that beginners and intermediates can easily implement to be effective in their own routines. Unlike some of the later recommended books, Practical Programming gives templates which the reader can use as their own program while explaining why they work which can eliminate some of the guesswork and confusion of trying to apply concepts to make their own routine. Only once it gets into the advanced section does it become more theoretical in nature and ask you to apply the concepts you learn to your own training. In conclusion, this book helps to bridge the gaps from using routines to making your own routines well. 

The Science and Practice of Strength Training is an intermediate to elite book aimed at understanding periodization concepts as how they best apply to specific tissues, adaptations, and populations. This deeper understanding will allow the reader to understand the reasons why they are implementing exercises, sets, repetitions, rest times, and so on into their routines and how that can play out with long-term progress. The specific populations mentioned are training for women, young adults, and seniors, so it's applicable to a broad range of people not just your regular athletes or recreational athletes wanting to know more. 

My own clinical approach is based on subtly working with the body. This book gives me many other necessary tools. A stronger, harsh, even brutal approach, which is sometimes necessary, can be found within these pages.

This book remains part of my ‘go-to’ guide for the constant prehab and rehab of everyday life. I love to row, a tough sport that requires a tailored approach to prevent injuries and guide me through land-based exercises.

On a theoretical side, I recognize many good fundamental principles that apply to other areas of movement once mastered. 

Why am I recommending a football strength training book for bodybuilding? Because every great bodybuilder is a good powerlifter at heart. Football training is about powerlifting movement, and there is no better source on this type of training than Bill Starr, the man who invented the modern strength training programs, used by all college and professional football teams, as well as professional strongmen and powerlifters. Starr learned these techniques from Tommy Kono, the most decorated weightlifter in American history, and he passed those lessons on to one of his students, Mark Rippetoe.

I believe deeply in the power of movement practice with strength training leading the way in foundational needs. Being a simplicity seeker, I am particularly drawn to the stripped-back nature of training with your own body weight (calisthenics) as a weight. I find this practice endlessly challenging and rewarding. I have long been a fan of the work of Danny Kavadlo (and his brother Al) who are two of the world’s leading authorities on calisthenics and were writing about its benefits years before it became as trendy as it is now. I’ve been fortunate enough to be coached by Danny several times whilst we holiday in New York and have written on my blog about some of our time and talks together.  

Danny is also a proponent of keeping things simple and likes to focus on what matters most. This book is something of a simplicity manifesto (to all things… show more.

A deceptively simple story with subtle social commentary, I loved how the author offered a coming-of-age story about a rural Scot eventually exposed to a wider world and its temptations.

Self-conscious of his puniness as a child, Geordie develops into a behemoth through strength training, his strength carrying him to the Olympics. I loved how Geordie ultimately parried worldly temptations, guided by his moral strength and sense of what was most important in life.

I was also enamored of the story as it struck close to home in terms of my own sense of childhood powerlessness and what I did to combat it.