For Better Health, Jog to the Bookstore

Before you zip up your vacation suitcase, tuck in a book to inspire and inform you about enhancing your life through physical activity. Here’s a summer reading list of reputable, readable titles:

* “The Spirited Walker,” by Carolyn Scott Kortge (HarperSanFrancisco, 1998, 253 pages, $15). A once-clumsy child who used to take “aerobic classes like vitamin pills--because they were good for me,” journalist Kortge discovered fitness walking in the 1980s and strode her way to winning medals in masters competition. In the process, she discovered that walking benefits both body and soul, and “can become the first step in a spiritual journey.” In this charming, motivational guide, she explains how to use walking for fitness and health and also for “clarity, balance and spiritual connection.”

* “Strength Training Past 50,” by Wayne L. Westcott and Thomas R. Baechle (Human Kinetics, 1998, 232 pages, $16.95). Two of America’s top strength and conditioning experts teamed up to write this comprehensive, practical guide to resistance exercises for older adults. The program is based on their five-year study of more than 1,000 previously sedentary men and women ages 21 to 80 who gained an average of 2.35 pounds of muscle in eight weeks by doing a 30-minute strength-training routine two or three days per week. After persuasively explaining why strength training can help slow the effects of aging, the authors present an array of safe, time-efficient exercises, illustrated with attractive photos of real people with gray hair and less-than-perfect bodies.

* “Get Real: A Personal Guide to Real-Life Weight Management,” by Daniel Kosich (IDEA: The Health and Fitness Source, 1995, 217 pages, $15.95). A sledgehammer smashing a scale adorns the cover of this gimmick-free guide to reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. Written by a top exercise scientist and published by the world’s largest membership organization of fitness professionals, the book examines cultural myths about size and explores the powerful link between emotional health and body weight. “Weight loss is as much a matter of the heart and mind as it is of the body,” says Kosich, whose no-nonsense plan is based on self-empowerment, adequate activity and sensible eating.

* “New York City Ballet Workout,” by Peter Martins (William Morrow & Co., 1997, 197 pages, $22). Next to football, ballet is the most demanding sport, according to a study cited in this inspiring and informative book written by dancer, choreographer and ballet master-in-chief Martins. It’s arguably the most beautiful sport too, judging from the stunning bodies photographed to illustrate what Martins calls “the 50 stretches and exercises anyone can do for a strong, graceful and sculpted body.” Instructions are easy to follow and include special 10- and 20-minute workouts, plus suggested musical accompaniment.

* “Strong Women Stay Slim,” by Miriam Nelson with Sarah Wernick (Bantam, 1998, 317 pages, $24.95). A year after her strength-training guide “Strong Women Stay Young” made the bestseller lists, Tufts University physiologist Nelson continues her crusade to muscle-up American women by touting the slimming effects of resistance exercise. Her practical, scientifically sound approach focuses on using exercise to transform the body and boost health, and also features a realistic, appealing “positive eating” plan.

* “Sport Stretch,” by Michael J. Alter (Human Kinetics, 1998, 221 pages, $15.95). The newly revised edition of this useful guide to flexibility features more than 300 stretches organized both by muscle groups (such as hamstrings, shoulders and upper back) and by sports (such as basketball, swimming and wrestling). Although the short introduction on “understanding flexibility” is technical and hard to follow, the stretches themselves are well-presented with easy explanations and excellent illustrations. A former gymnast and high school physical education teacher, Alter presents a series of 12 “all-star stretches” that cover all the major muscle groups, can be done in about 10 to 15 minutes and are applicable to virtually every sport.

* “How to Use Yoga,” by Mira Mehta (Rodmell Press, 1998, 96 pages, $14.95). The beautiful color photographs and step-by-step instructions in this attractive book make the ancient art of yoga easily accessible to modern practitioners. Written by a disciple of Indian yoga master B.K.S. Inyengar, the book explains how to integrate yoga into daily life and features specific postures geared to healing a variety of common ailments such as headaches, stiff neck and back pain.

* “Running and Walking for Women Over 40,” by Kathrine Switzer (St. Martin’s Griffin, 1998, 196 pages, $14.95). Switzer, who in 1967 became the first woman to officially enter the Boston Marathon, writes that “the physical act of running had never failed to correct every imbalance in my life.” In this personal and inspiring book, she explores how running and walking can pave “the road to sanity and vanity” in the second half of life. While her advice is geared to women older than 40, many of her suggestions are applicable to younger women and men as well.

* “The Long Road Turns to Joy,” by Thich Nhat Hanh (Parallax Press, 1996, 80 pages, $8). An ordinary walk can become a stress-reducing, soul-lifting experience with guidance from this beautiful little book by a renowned Zen master and poet. Written with clear, simple elegance and illustrated with photos of people doing “walking meditation” around the world, this pocket-size volume is a powerful primer on finding peace and joy with every step.

* Fitness runs Monday in Health.