Customer Reviews

The Winter Athlete: Secrets of Wholistic Fitness for Outdoor Performance

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this book is one of the best bargains about outdoor sport on the market today. it's 450+ pages are jam packed with tips on equipment and technique, other books to read, phone numbers . .on and on and on.

nearly one third of the book is devoted to sport specific training programs-complete with illustrations-distilled from a lifetime devoted to outdoor sport both competitive and non competitive.

besides nordic and alpine skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice climbing and mountaineering, the winter athlete covers a lot of ground that's not snow covered as well. there are chapters on cycling (road & mtb), skating, rock climbing, trail running, kayaking . .

there is something in this book for everyone. everytime i pick it up i learn something new.

along with sport specific training advice, ilg also covers general strength and endurance training, nutrition, flexibility and mental preparation.

ilg's training philosophy is not without it's critics. he believes that everything an athlete does can be considered training. how you live your life is how you perform your sport. ilg is apt to tell a weight lifter to free his mind and his body will follow or a runner to "run with the earth not upon it." ilg's writing style is informative and fun. he loves the natural world and it shows.

you can accept his philosophy or not. for the humble sum of twenty bucks you get a stunning buffet of information that you can partake of or leave alone.

what more can i say. winter athlete rocks.

This book is a must read for all people who venture outdoors in pursuit of sport. While the emphasis is on the winter sports, the lessons transfer easily to all seasons. What is refreshing & unique about Steve's approach is his refusal to compartmentalize sport and exercise into another item to be checked off a to do list. His approach teaches that the lessons of effort and grace and persistence learned on the slopes & trails & tracks can and should transfer to the daily activities of life. A more unique book you will not find. Buy this to increase your enjoyment & skill of your chosen winter sport and you will get that benefit & much more.

I never dreamed that working out could be such a spiritual journey.This work is TRULY innovative.There is NOTHING like it in the world. I have studied this work for over 7 yrs.It has taken me taken me on a journey that to this day continues to inspire me.We are blessed to have this book!

Steve Ilg's The Winter Athlete is the best book on training that I've come across. Not only does he give you a thorough list of novel exercises to prepare you for your chosen sport, his text is rich with spritual and philosophical insights that makes one re-think the skism that most athletes in the Western automatically assume to be true -- separating our training from our life. Mr. Ilg allows us to see that the more we integrate the two, the more we focus on the present, the greater our growth as athletes and human beings. The book is called The Winter Athlete, it could just as easily (and perhaps more accurately) be titled, The Wholistic Athlete Within.

Steve Ilg is an interesting character and an incredibly fit man. I have been working out for 15 years, but when I tried some of the programs in this book--they tested my will! Its a terrific book to give an athlete new training ideas. The concept of changing your training routine it really useful. How many of us fall into the routine of doing the same thing over and over again? Of course, Ilg's merging of the spiritual, intellectual and physical is also awesome.

Having recently completed my green tara strength phase. Not only do I feel strengthen physically, but the strength of my soul will definately take center stage come race season. Thanks to Steve Ilg's Wholistic Fitness cycling training program.

Dorman Baltazar (Cyclist) Encino Cyclery

This was an excellent book! I would highly recommend it to anyone considering training for outdoor sports or for anyone simply wishing to improve their fitness.

Steve Ilg takes a very insightful approach to training and the philosophical aspects of fitness.

"The books arrived today. I have informed Messr. Albert Camus that, despite his having won a Nobel prize in literature, he would have to share my mind, bedstand, and reading focus with The Winter Athlete." - George Watson, Boulder, CO