Physiology of Sport and Exercise, ed 3.

Physiology of Sport and Exercise, ed 3

Wilmore JH, Costill DL. Champaign, IL 61825-5076, Human Kinetics, 2004, hardcover, 743 pp, illus, ISBN: 0-7360-4489-2, $75.

The purpose of this book is to introduce The student to the field of sport and exercise physiology, with the goal of making learning easy and enjoyable. The authors appear to have succeeded with this edition. The first thing readers will notice upon opening the book are the numerous, high-quality images, including photographs, illustrations, and graphs, many of which are in full-color format. The text includes a comfortable mix of white space, text, and graphics that makes it inviting to read. I believe this book would draw the student's interest much more titan other texts on the same subject. The authors seem to recognize that getting students to read the assigned text is not easy and that making the text visually interesting is one way to encourage reading.

The text comprises 21 chapters in 6 parts: (1) "Essentials of Movement," (2) "Energy for Movement," (3) "Cardiovascular and Respiratory Function and Performance," (4) "Environmental Influences on Performance," (5) "Optimizing Performance in Sport," and (6) "Age and Sex Considerations in Sport and Exercise." The chapters cover all aspects of exercise physiology in a depth that would be expected of an introductory text. The chapter topics flow in a logical manner from cellular to system level to overall function and performance. Although there are other, more in-depth texts on this subject, The level of discussion appears to be more than adequate for students who are being introduced to sport and exercise physiology.

The chapters on muscle structure and physiology are basic and contain information on muscle proteins, contracThe mechanisms, and fiber typing. This is followed by a discussion of the nervous system involvement in movement and neuromuscular adaptation. Although these are excellent chapters, they are not detailed enough for physical therapist students, but they do serve as an excellent introduction to the topics. As one would expect, there are several chapters on energy requirements that would be appropriate lot physical therapists. The chapters on cardiopulmonary physiology serve as a good background, but physical therapists would probably want more content dealing with acute clinical conditions rather than the athletic population. The chapter on nutrition in sport gives a nice overview of the topic that would be of interest to physical therapist students. I thought the chapter on ergogenic aids was especially well written, with a short, yet comprehensive, discussion of numerous ergogenic aids, their mechanisms of action, and the risks posed by their use. The chapters dealing with exercise prescription are fine; however; physical therapists would want more information on exercise prescription in a clinical situation.

The publisher offers some excellent resources for faculty members who adopt this text, along with study resources for students. For instructors, there is an instructor's guide, a test package, and a presentation package that includes a number of slide (PowerPoint) presentations. For the student, an online study guide is available that provides ancillary instruction on each of the chapters.

Overall, I was impressed with the text. The authors have developed a text that is factual and comprehensive, yet enjoyable to read, which should enhance student learning. Each chapter is followed by current, peer-reviewed references, key terms, study questions, and a list of selected readings. Both authors are very well known in the field of exercise physiology, and this text is destined to become one of the classics on the topic. Although the text deals primarily with an athletic population, with an emphasis on normal physiology, the content provides an excellent basis for physical therapist students who will want to move on to dealing with more clinically related discussions and exercise prescription for a patient population. Faculty members who are teaching exercise physiology will want to look at this text and consider it for adoption.

Thomas M Mohr, PT, PhD

University of North Dakota 

Grand Forks, ND

Dr Mohr is Professor and Chairman in the Department of Physical Therapy. His teaching responsibilities are in neuroscience, physiology, biomechanics, and electrophysiology, His research interests are in electromyography, biomechanics, and electrotherapy.