The Fighter's Body: An Owner's Manual : Your Guide to Diet, Nutrition, Exercise and Excellence in the Martial Arts

by Loren W. Christensen, Wim Demeere

You have an owner's manual for your car, your stereo and even your blender, so why not your body? "The Fighter's Body" is exactly that, an owner's manual for your body, the most complex piece of equipment you will ever own. As a martial artist, you have special needs. Have you ever wondered how that latest fad diet might affect your performance on the mat? Ever wanted to take off a few extra pounds? How about putting on muscle without slowing down? Make weight for a tournament? Lose 5 pounds fast? Eat better? Change weight classes? Confused about supplements, vitamins and protein shakes? Can't make sense of the food pyramid? Don't know where to start? Start here. Author Loren Christensen and personal trainer Wim Demeere combine their knowledge of martial arts, weight training, nutrition, diet and exercise to answer your questions and put you on the road to becoming the best martial arts athlete you can be. This book will answer your questions about important topics why some diets are harmful for martial artists; how to calculate your protein needs for training; when and how to use supplements; how to eat at fast food places and not ruin your diet; why it's okay to splurge on 'Dirt Day'; how to safely make weight for a tournament; why HIIT training is essential to weight loss; what to eat on competition days; and, how to create a plan that works and stick to it.

Genres: Martial Arts, Health, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2003

About the author

Loren W. Christensen is a Vietnam veteran, retired police officer, a martial artist since 1965, and a prolific author of books and magazine articles.

As a writer, Loren has penned over 70 books and dozens of magazine articles on a variety of subjects. While his target audience is most often what he calls “the warrior community” – martial artists, cops, soldiers – his writing has become popular among high school and college students, parents, professionals of every kind, and people interested in a side of life outside the norm.

Loren is most thankful to his many friends, associates and fellow writers in the warrior community for their continual support and expert advice.

Biography:

Bachelors of Science - PSU
Vietnam veteran – 716th Military Police
Career police officer (ret) – Portland, Oregon
Street patrol, gang enforcement, defensive tactics instructor, bodyguard
Script advisor for the motion picture Best of the Best 3
Martial artist since 1965
Earned a total of 13 black belts in three fighting arts
Starred in 7 instructional DVDs
Author of 70 books and dozens of magazine articles
Nominated for the Frankfurt award
Co-author (with Lt. Col. Dave Grossman) of “Evolution of Weaponry” in Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict, Academic Press
Wrote regularly for Black Belt, Karate Illustrated, Inside Kung fu and many others
Currently writes regularly for Black Belt and Police and Security News magazines
Book Solo Training was ranked in Amazon’s top 3 for three years in a row
Named in the 2007 - 2008 Heritage Registry of Who's Who in publishing

Reviews

[Andrew Luce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read on an overview of health for active martial artists, rife with memorable anecdotes.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I wish I read when I was a kid.
Overall a good book with useful information.

There are still relevant points and helpful information throughout the book, but some things a repeated so many times that it can be irritating.

[Christopher Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent but common sense. Tough to get through but useful information especially pre internet.

[John Constable · Rating 5 out of 5]

In so many respects, I wish I had read this before The assorted other books, as its pretty much distilled good practice, with little faddy advice (and some advice on faddy advice). Its given me details and references to look up some areas of nutrition that I'd been unclear on, and some ideas for food and exercise I had skipped over.

It does rather make me realise I don't train very hard, though!

The authors tone is excellently blended, although some of the comments made me do a little research, and it amused me that one of the Authors is using a rather...out of date bio picture. :-) Although, as he's a 9th Dan Karateka, I shall say nothing detrimental!

I intend to check out other works by these authors, and recommend this highly.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great starter on nutrition from a fighter's perspective. Well written, very easy read.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little basic but perhaps I have the benefit of hindsight. This is the kind of book I wish I read as a teenager.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting concepts; could have benefited from some additional copy editing.